The Key West Film Festival announced today the recipient of its 4th annual Golden Key Award for Emerging Talent. The Golden Key for Emerging Talent, given to actors and directors whose work will be destined to grace our screens for years to come, will be presented to Delaney Buffett for her breakout role in front of the camera and deft direction behind it that can be seen in ADULT BEST FRIENDS. The film will screen as a Spotlight title at the festival.
Past recipients of the award include Kodi Smit-McPhee for his Oscar nominated performance in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, Elegance Bratton for his work behind the camera in The Inspection, and Thomasin McKenzie in her tour-de-force performance alongside Anne Hathaway in Eileen.
Delaney Buffett is a writer and director from Florida. Her directorial debut, The Spring, a short documentary about a mermaid amusement park, premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and won Best Documentary at the 2017 Toronto International Short Film Festival. She’s directed several other short documentaries, including Wallace, a film about a small town in Idaho where brothels were open and tolerated until 1991, which premiered at the 2019 Sun Valley Film Festival, 2020 Aspen Shorts Fest and 2019 Crested Butte Film Festival as well as Mooptopia, a short documentary that follows a young influencer who loses her fame overnight, which premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. Her first narrative short, Pal, was an official selection at the 27th LA Comedy Festival. ADULT BEST FRIENDS is her feature debut as a director.
Michael Tuckman, Director of Programming of the Key West Film Festival, “We are elated to present this award to Delaney Buffett and especially pleased to shine the spotlight on another incredible artist to hail from Florida. We at KWFF are so proud to play a role in continuing to showcase and spotlight her brilliant directing, writing and acting that has been on display since the film first premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. We know she won’t be thought of as “emerging” for much longer as her star shines brighter every day.
Visit https://keywestff.com for full program information – which will be announced on October 16, along with a schedule of events.
