Hukkle, Gyorgi Palfi's visually stunning,dialogue-free debut from Hungary, claimed the Milagro Award for best feature at the third annual Santa Fe Film Festival.

The festival also gave its Milagro Award for best American indie to The Slaughter Rule, Alex and Andrew Smith's hardscrabble drama about six-man football teams from the frigid outback of Montana.

Other awards went to:

* John C.P. Goheen's Lady Warriors, a documentary portrait of a champion girls' cross-country team from Tuba City, Arizona -- Best Native film.

* Daniel Burmanís "Every Stewardess Goes to Heaven," a romantic comedy from Argentina -- Best Latin film.

* Ben Meade's Vakvagany, a highly experimental, Hungarian-American co-production using stolen home movies to depict a dysfunctional family -- Best documentary.

* Chris Terrio's Book of Kings,-- a metaphysical exploration underwritten by the Merchant Ivory Foundation -- Best short.

* And Elisabeth Unna's Little Lourdes, a documentary contrasting Chimayo's rich spiritual heritage with the rural New Mexico community's struggles to overcome rampant heroin abuse -- Best New Mexico film.

Deborah Dickson's Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House, won the festival's inaugural Audience Award. The film recounts the true-life romance of Ruth Berman and Connie Kurtz, neighbors from the same Brooklyn high-rise apartment who fell in love, leaving their husbands to embark on 40-year journey through life together.

Executive director Jon Bowman estimated this seasonís attendance peaked at 15,000. That represents a 36 percent increase from the 11,000 in ticket sales at last year's Santa Fe Film Festival.

Opening on Wednesday, December 4, with a restored print of Red Sky at Morning from Universal Pictures, the festival concluded Sunday, December 8 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The festival revealed its Milagro Awards during a banquet at the historic Bishop's Lodge resort north of Santa Fe. Actress Shirley MacLaine, actor/director Peter Fonda, musician/composer Robbie Robertson and independent-minded director Robert M. Young all received the festivalís Luminaria lifetime achievement awards at the banquet. Ali MacGraw and Judge Reinhold served as emcees.

Others in attendance included actors Wes Studi and John Cameron Mitchell, actress Verna Bloom, television producer Bill Kurtis and Steven Kutcher, Hollywood's leading entomologist, who wrangled the bugs for Arachnophobia.

Kelly Devine, supervisor of film acquisitions for IFC; Pete Warzel, a co-founder of Magnolia Pictures; and Cynthia Kane, supervisor of film programming for the Sundance Channel, led a panel on the future of film distribution.

Another panel delved into composing music for the movies. Its participants included Oscar-winner Dav Grusin (Tootsie, The Milagro Beanfield War) and Emmy-winner Gerald Fried (Roots).

The festival presented galas of Talk to Her, The Safety of Objects and Personal Velocity. Heading the roster of sponsors were Comcast, Clear Channel, IFC and KBAC-FM. Other festival sponsors: the Showtime Networks, the Sundance Channel, A&E, Discovery, Bravo, Crown Royal, Hollywood.com and indie films.

Dates for the fourth annual Santa Fe Film Festival are now set for December 3-7, 2003. Visit the festival Web site at www.santafefilmfestival.com for updates and announcements.

Courtesy of the Santa Fe Film Festival Staff