Toth, Caouette win honors at L.A. film fest

First-time feature director Ferenc Toth’s “Unknown Soldier” won best narrative feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival, and Jonathan Caouette’s “Tarnation” took best documentary.

Toth, whose film concerns a bright Harlem teen who suddenly finds himself homeless, and Caouette, whose documentary about his relationship with his troubled mother also screened at the Cannes Film Festival, will receive unrestricted cash grants underwritten by Target Stores of $50,000 and $25,000, respectively.

Jeanette Brox won best narrative performance for “Wilderness Survival for Girls.” Audience favorites at the June 17-26 festival put on by the Independent Feature Project/Los Angeles were “Maria Full of Grace” and “Up for Grabs.”