Blerta Basholli’s “Hive” won three awards in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition: the Directing and Audience awards and the Grand Jury Prize. Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s “Writing with Fire” earned two World Cinema Documentary awards. A total of 72 features screened over the last week, along with 50 shorts, four Indie Series, and 14 New Frontier VR/new media projects. Those projects were judged by a jury made up of Zeynep Atakan, Raúl Castillo, Ashley Clark, Julie Dash, Tacita Dean, Cynthia Erivo, Isaac Julien, Inge de Leeuw, Kim Longinotto, Laura Mulleavy, Kate Mulleavy, Joshua Oppenheimer, Mohamed Ouma Saïd, Jean Tsien, Daniela Vega, Lana Wilson, and Hanya Yanagihara.
Though this year marked the first virtual festival, the festival opened strong with a parade of buzzy titles that earned critical acclaim, including Heder’s drama about a deaf family and their hearing daughter, Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated refugee documentary “Flee,” and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s music documentary “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).” Other standouts from later in the festival include Rebecca Hall’s racial drama “Passing,” Dash Shaw’s psychedelic animated tale “Cryptozoo,” and Jamila Wignot’s Alvin Ailey documentary “Ailey.” The festival was strong from a sales perspective as well. Apple’s $25 million acquisition of “CODA” less than two days after it premiered smashed a sales record set last year. Neon picked up “Flee” and “Ailey,” while Sony Pictures Classics made another prominent theatrical pickup with “Jockey.” More sales activity is expected in the coming days, as distributors remain engaged in bidding wars for several titles in need of distribution. Below check out the complete list of winners.
Shorts
Special Jury Award for Acting: Deanna Gibson, “Wiggle Room” Special Jury Award for Screenwriting: Serhat Karaaslan, “The Criminals” Jury Award, Animation: “Souvenir Souvenir,” dir. Bastien Dubois Jury Award, Non-Fiction: “Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma,” dir. Topaz Jones and rubberband Jury Award, International Fiction: “Bambirak,” dir. Zamarin Wahdat Jury Award, U.S. Fiction: “The Touch of the Master’s Hand,” dir. Gregory Barnes Grand Jury Prize: “Lizard,” dir. Akinola Davies Jr.
NEXT
NEXT Audience Award Presented by Adobe: “Ma Belle, My Beauty,” dir. Marion Hill NEXT Innovator Award Presented by Adobe: “Cryptozoo,” dir. Dash Shaw
World Cinema Documentary
Special Jury Award in Verite Filmmaking: “President,” dir. Camilla Nielsson Special Jury Award: Impact for Change: “Writing With Fire,” dir. Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh Directing Award: Hogir Hirori, “Sabaya” Grand Jury Prize: “Flee,” dir. Jonas Poher Rasmussen Audience Award: “Writing With Fire,” dir. Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh
World Cinema Dramatic
Special Jury Award for Acting: Jesmark Scicluna, “Luzzu” Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: “One for the Road,” dir. Baz Poonpiriya Directing Award: Blerta Basholli, “Hive” Grand Jury Prize: “Hive,” dir. Blerta Basholli Audience Award: “Hive,” dir. Blerta Basholli
US Documentary
Audience Award: “Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” dir. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker: “Cusp,” dir. Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt Special Jury Award for Nonfiction Experimentation: “All Light, Everywhere,” dir. Theo Anthony Jonathan Oppenhein Editing Award: Kristina Motwani and Rebecca Adorno, “Homeroom” Directing Award: Natalia Almada, “Users” Grand Jury Prize: “Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” dir. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
US Dramatic
Audience Award: “CODA,” dir. Sian Heder Special Jury Award for Acting: Clifton Collins Jr., “Jockey” Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble: “CODA” Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch, “On the Count of Three” Directing Award: Sian Heder, “CODA” Grand Jury Prize: “CODA,” dir. Sian Heder
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