Tribeca Film Festival Announces Awards

Even with the proliferation of Film Festivals, some still stand above the others in terms of credibility and prestige. One of those is the Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place each year in the Tribeca section of new York.

Founded in 2001 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, the festival was created to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of the lower Manhattan district through an annual celebration of film, music and culture. The Festival’s mission is to help filmmakers reach the broadest possible audience, enable the international film community and general public to experience the power of cinema and promote New York City as a major filmmaking center.

In that spirit, the festival announced the winners of this year’s awards. And, here they are:

WORLD NARRATIVE COMPETITION CATEGORIES:

The jurors for the 2011 World Narrative Competition were Souleymane Cissé, Scott Glenn, David Gordon Green, Rula Jebreal, Art Linson, Jason Sudeikis and Dianne Wiest.

• The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature – She Monkeys (Apflickorna), directed by Lisa Aschan, written by Josefine Adolfsson and Lisa Aschan (Sweden). Winner receives $25,000 and the art award “Anna Christie Entering the Bar, 1965-1967” by Robert De Niro Sr. Sponsored by AKA Hotel Residences. The award was given by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro and Larry Korman from AKA Residences.

• Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film – Ramadhan “Shami” Bizimana as Yvan in Grey Matter (Matière Grise), directed and written by Kivu Ruhorahoza (Rwanda, Australia). Winner receives $2,500. The award was given by Rula Jebreal.

• Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film – Carice van Houten as Ingrid Jonker in Black Butterflies, directed by Paula van der Oest, written by Greg Latter (Germany, Netherlands, South Africa). Winner receives $2,500. The award was given by Rula Jebreal.

• Best Cinematography in a Narrative Feature Film – Luisa Tillinger, Artificial Paradises (Paraisos Artificiales) (Mexico). Winner receives $5,000 and $50,000 in post production services provided by Company 3. The award was given by Rula Jebreal.

• Best Screenplay for a Narrative Feature Film – Jannicke Systad Jabobsen, Turn Me On, Goddammit (Få meg på, for faen) (Norway). Winner receives $5,000. The award was given by Rula Jebreal.

BEST NEW NARRATIVE DIRECTOR:

The jurors for the 2011 Best New Narrative Director Competition were Paul Dano, Atom Egoyan, Zoe Kazan, Anna Kendrick, Rainn Wilson.

• Best New Narrative Director – Park Jungbum, writer and director of Journals of Musan (Musan Il-gi) (South Korea). Winner receives $25,000, sponsored by American Express; $50,000 in post production services provided by Company 3; and the art award “Double Happiness” by Nate Lowman. The award was given by Zoe Kazan and Jessica Igoe from American Express.

• Special Jury Mention – Kivu Ruhorahoza, writer and director of Grey Matter (Matière Grise). The announcement was made by Anna Kendrick.

WORLD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION CATEGORIES:

The jurors for the 2011 World Documentary Competition were Amir Bar-Lev, Michael Cera, RJ Cutler, Abigail Disney, Whoopi Goldberg, Louie Psihoyos and Peter Scarlet.

• Best Documentary Feature – Bombay Beach, directed by Alma Har’el (USA, Israel). Winner receives $25,000 and the art award “Nathans” by Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao. The award was given by Louie Psihoyos.

• Best Editing in a Documentary Feature – Purcell Carson, Semper Fi: Always Faithful (USA). Winner receives $5,000. The award was given by Amir Bar-Lev.

BEST NEW DOCUMENTARY DIRECTOR COMPETITION:

The jurors for the 2011 World Documentary Competition were Margaret Bodde, Jared Cohen, J.D. Heyman, Lauren Hutton, Annie Sundberg.

• Best New Documentary Director – Pablo Croce for Like Water, (USA). Winner receives $25,000, sponsored by American Express; and the art award “Path to the Stage” by Inka Essenhigh. The award was given by Lauren Hutton and Jessica Igoe from American Express.

• Special Jury Mention – Michael Collins, director of Give Up Tomorrow (UK, USA). The announcement was made by Lauren Hutton.

SHORT FILM COMPETITION CATEGORIES:

The 2011 Best Narrative Short Competition jurors were Nora Ephron, Ceci Kurzman, Denis Leary, Fran Lebowitz, David O. Russell, Paul Schneider and Jimmy Wales.

Best Narrative Short – Man and Boy, directed by David Leon and Marcus McSweeney, written by David Leon and Rashid Rasaq (UK). Winner receives $5,000, sponsored by Persol; 5,000 feet of film stock donated by Kodak; and the art award “Gold Dust (Undeclared) by Taryn Simon. The award was given by Denis Leary and Victor Melendez from Persol.

Special Jury Mention – The Terms, written and directed by Jason LaMotte (UK)

Jury Comments: “Dark, original and beautifully written.”

The 2011 Best Documentary and Student Short Competition jurors were Ahmed Ahmed, Agnes Gund, Zoe Kravitz, Nicole Lapin, Lisa Shields, Christine Vachon and Patrick Wilson.

Best Documentary Short – Incident in New Baghdad, written and directed by James Spione (US). Winner receives $5,000, sponsored by Persol; 5,000 feet of film stock donated Kodak; and the art award “Big Penny” by Tom Otterness. The award was given by Nicole Lapin and Victor Melendez from Persol.

Special Jury Mention – Guru, written and directed by Jonathan VanBallenberghe (USA).

Student Visionary Award – Rooms, written and directed by Joanna Jurewicz (USA). Winner receives MacPro Desktop with Final Cut Pro and a 24-inch monitor provided by Apple; and the art award “Study: Northern City Renaissance (Mass MoCA #79N)” by Stephen Hannock. This award was also given by Ahmed Ahmed.

Special Jury Mention: Eva – Working Title, written and directed by Dor Fadlon (Israel)

TRIBECA (ONLINE) FILM FESTIVAL CATEGORIES:

The 2011 Tribeca (Online) Film Festival winners were voted on by visitors to tribecafilm.com.

Tribeca (Online) Film Festival Best Feature Film: Donor Unknown, directed and written by Jerry Rothwell (UK). Winner receives $25,000, sponsored by American Express, and the art award “Untitled” by Sarah Crowner. The award was given by Geoffrey Gilmore and Jessica Igoe from American Express.

Tribeca (Online) Film Festival Best Short Film: Dungeon Master, directed by Shiloh & Rider Strong (UK). Winners receive $5,000, sponsored by Accenture. The award was given by Geoffrey Gilmore and Dr. Gavin Michael from Accenture.

FULL LIST OF ELIGIBLE 2011 TFF FILMS IN EACH CATEGORY OF COMPETITION:

World Narrative Feature Competition:

· Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature: 12 films

· Best Actress in a Narrative Feature: 12 actresses

· Best Actor in a Narrative Feature: 11 actors

· Best Cinematography in a Narrative Feature: 12 films

· Best Screenplay for a Narrative Feature: 12 films

World Documentary Feature Competition:

· Best Documentary Feature: 12 films

· Best Editing in a Documentary Film: 12 filmmakers

All feature sections, first time directors with films making their North American, International, or World Premiere

· Best New Narrative Director: directors selected from 17 films

· Best New Documentary Director: directors selected from 17 films

Short Films in Competition:

· Best Narrative Short: 35 films

· Best Documentary Short: 14 films

· Student Visionary Award: 10 films