This year's jury included Dread Central's Jonathan Barkan, Shudder's Ariel Fisher, Daily Dead's Derek Anderson, TrueHorror's Jason Sheppard, and Promote Horror's Omar Usman.
The jurors honored director Adam Egypt Mortimer's "Daniel Isn't Real" with the Feature Film Jury Prize. "The jury is pleased to award Adam Egypt Mortimer's Daniel Isn't Real the Best Feature of Popcorn Frights 2019. A wonderfully constructed nightmare, the film won us over with its excellent acting, beautiful presentation, and exhilarating creativity. As an exceptionally strong sophomore feature, we are excited to see what Mortimer will do next."
Adam Egypt Mortimer commented on receiving the award, saying, "This is such an honor. Man, the festival had so many of this year's amazing horror films playing, it's such a thrill to have played with all of them and be given an award. And this is a major triumphant return for me, as I am in fact originally a Florida Man - or Florida baby, since I lived in Tampa for the first three years of my life. Thanks for having me and Daniel at your top-notch festival!"
Popcorn Frights has been named "One of the Best Film Festival's in Florida" by The Sun-Sentinel and is the largest genre film festival in Southeast United States. Popcorn Frights special focus on discovering new talent and recognizing established filmmakers has made it a natural gateway for the best in genre films from around the world. The next event will take place on August 6-14, 2020.
The following is a complete list of the awards given out this year:
JURY AWARDS
Feature Film Jury Prize
Daniel Isn't Real
Jury Prize Honorable Mention
Haunt
Scariest Feature Film
Z
Scariest Feature Film Honorable Mention
Haunt
Short Film Jury Prize
La Noria
Honorable Mention
Wild Love
Scariest Short Film
Other Side of the Box
Best Florida Film
The Final Girl Returns
AUDIENCE AWARDS
Audience Award for Best Feature Film (Tie)
The Dare
Villains
Audience Award for Best Short Film
Toe
Audience Award Runners-Up
Haunt (Feature Film)
Go Back (Short Film)
