[1][2][3] The MIFF Midlife Achievement Award is given annually to an actor or filmmaker whose contributions to independent cinema merit recognition.
Past honorees include directors Jonathan Demme, Terrence Malick, and Walter Hill, and actors Gabriel Byrne, John Turturro, Ed Harris, Peter Fonda, Lili Taylor, Sissy Spacek, Dominique Sanda, and Michael Murphy.
In 2017, the festival honored Roger Deakins with the inaugural Karl Struss Legacy Award for Distinguished Achievement in Cinematography, named for and dedicated to the eponymous pioneering Maine-connected Hollywood cinematographer.
The festival does not give awards to individual films and performances, though an audience favorite is determined each year by a balloting process.
Past audience favorites include: George Washington (2000), The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (2005), The Brand New Testament (2016[4]) and The Children Act (2018).