It’s closing night at the 25^th edition of AFI FEST, Los Angeles’s longest running international film festival. Since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes this festival as a qualifier for the Short Films category for an Oscar, the winners at AFI FEST may be seen again on stage in just a few short months. AFI has released the winning films in both the Audience Award and Jury Award categories.

The “Breakthrough” section of the Audience awards, accompanied by a $5,000 prize, went to With Every Heartbeat by Alexandra-Therese Keining. Winners of the Jury Awards, and thus qualifiers for an Academy Award, include Live Action Grand Jury Prize Winner Frozen Stories by Grzegorz Jaroszuk and Animated Grand Jury Prize Winner The Eagleman Stag by Michael Please. Hit the jump to see the rest of the winners.

Jacqueline Lyanga, Director of AFI FEST, remarked on the festival in its closing hours:

“It has been an exciting year for world cinema and emerging international filmmakers. We've had incredibly enthusiastic audiences for all of the screenings at AFI FEST. It's wonderful to discover the films that especially resonate with audiences and put a spotlight on filmmakers as part of awards season critical acclaim.”

And Lane Kneedler, Associate Director of Programming, commented on the eight days of films:

“It has been eight fantastic days of screenings here in Los Angeles with over 150 filmmakers from around the world attending to present their works. What a wonderful way to end AFI FEST’s 25th Edition by acknowledging the films our distinguished juries and esteemed audiences have bestowed on these talented filmmakers.”

Jury members were comprised of AFI Conservatory Class of 2001 filmmakers, Barry Jenkins (Remigration) and Gerardo Naranjo (Miss Bala), accompanied by festival programmer, Kim Yutani. For awarding the Live Action Grand Jury Prize, they cited “its world of meta-reality suffused with enough context to rend a beautifully nuanced story for the most heightened elements.” For the Animated prize, they praised “its ambitious and elegant storytelling, both narrative and aesthetically, in which the bigness of life and the concept of time are deftly unpacked in a moving nine minutes.”

Here's the full list of winners in the press release:

AFI FEST 2011 presented by Audi ANNOUNCES AUDIENCE AND JURY AWARD-WINNING FILMS

LOS ANGELES, CA, November 10, 2011 – AFI FEST 2011 presented by Audi announced today the features and short films that are the recipients of this year’s Audience and Jury Awards. The films will screen today in an encore run at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, CA.

“It has been an exciting year for world cinema and emerging international filmmakers,” said Jacqueline Lyanga, Director of AFI FEST presented by Audi. “We've had incredibly enthusiastic audiences for all of the screenings at AFI FEST. It's wonderful to discover the films that especially resonate with audiences and put a spotlight on filmmakers as part of awards season critical acclaim.”

“It has been eight fantastic days of screenings here in Los Angeles with over 150 filmmakers from around the world attending to present their works,” said Lane Kneedler, Associate Director of Programming for AFI FEST presented by Audi. “What a wonderful way to end AFI FEST’s 25th Edition by acknowledging the films our distinguished juries and esteemed audiences have bestowed on these talented filmmakers.”

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Breakthrough Section (award accompanied by a $5,000 cash prize) WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT by Alexandra-Therese Keining

New Auteurs Section BULLHEAD by Michaël R. Roskam

World Cinema Section A tie: JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI by David Gelb and KINYARWANDA by Alrick Brown

Young Americans Section WUSS by Clay Liford

LIVE ACTION AND ANIMATED SHORT FILM SECTION JURY AWARDS

As in previous years, a jury determines the AFI FEST 2011 Live Action and Animated Short Film Section Awards. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences recognizes each winner as a qualifier for the annual Academy Awards®. The Short Film Jury – comprised of filmmakers Barry Jenkins and Gerardo Naranjo (AFI Conservatory Class of 2001) and festival programmer Kim Yutani – announced the awards with their statements.

Live Action Short Film Section Grand Jury Prize: FROZEN STORIES from Grzegorz Jaroszuk “for its world of meta-reality suffused with enough context to rend a beautifully nuanced story for the most heightened elements.”

Honorable Mention: BABYLAND by Marc Fratello “for its assured direction, stunning lead performance and the ability to balance humor and pathos all the way up to its shocking conclusion.”

Animated Short Film Section Grand Jury Prize: THE EAGLEMAN STAG by Michael Please “for its ambitious and elegant storytelling, both narrative and aesthetically, in which the bigness of life and the concept of time are deftly unpacked in a moving nine minutes.”

Honorable Mention: THE VOYAGERS by Penny Lane “for its skillful juxtaposition of archival footage and personal narrative to tell a moving story of exploration, romance and space travel.”

NEW AUTEURS SECTION CRITIC’S PRIZE

This year AFI FEST debuts its New Auteurs Critic’s Prize selected by an esteemed panel of international critics: Justin Chang (Variety), Mike Goodridge (Screen International), Mark Olsen (The Los Angeles Times) and Jean Oppenheimer (American Cinematographer).

Grand Jury Prize: THE LONELIEST PLANET by Julia Loktev “for its bold exploration of societal structures and gender roles, set against a landscape that conveys both profound beauty and profound alienation.”

Special Jury Prize: ATTENBERG by Athina Rachel Tsangari “for its wit, distinct voice and playful sense of storytelling.”

Acting Award Prize: BULLHEAD’s Matthias Schoenaerts “for his nuanced and intensely physical embodiment of bruised masculinity.”

About the American Film Institute AFI is America’s promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. AFI provides leadership in film, television and digital media and is dedicated to initiatives that engage the past, the present and the future of the moving image arts. AFI programs include the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and Archive, the AFI Life

Achievement Award, now in it's 40th year, AFI Awards, honoring the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year, AFI Fest presented by Audi, celebrating its 25th edition this fall, AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs, AFI Silver Theatre and the AFI Conservatory, which was named the # 1 film school in the world by The Hollywood Reporter.  Additional information about AFI is available at AFI.com.