30/04/2020 - Jan Komasa’s latest feature has come out on top at the postponed New York-based gathering, which announced its winners online

The 19^th Tribeca Film Festival was forced to postpone its originally scheduled programme owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the award winners have still been announced, as the juries managed to do their job from a distance. According to the organisers, a scaled-down version of the festival is planned to run in September.

In the International Narrative Competition, The Hater [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Polish filmmaker Jan Komasa was crowned with the Best International Narrative Feature Award. Komasa was also nominated for this year’s Best International Feature Film Oscar with his previous effort, Corpus Christi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bartosz Bielenia
interview: Jan Komasa
film profile]. In the other main competition, the Best US Narrative Feature Award went to the coming-of-age dramedy The Half of It, written and directed by Alice Wu.

The International Narrative Competition jury, comprising Sabine Hoffman, Judith Godrèche, Danny Boyle, William Hurt and Demián Bichir, bestowed the top prize, which is accompanied by the “January Golden Rock” Art Award by Helen Marden, upon The Hater, as the jurors were impressed by the way the film portrays a character that is not immediately empathetic but which really engrossed them in the journey and the story.

The second big winner was Asia [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the debut feature by Israeli writer-director Ruthy Pribar. The movie scooped the Best Actress Award for Shira Haas, on account of her being “an incredibly honest and present actress who brings depth to everything she does”, Best Cinematography for Daniella Nowitz, as the jury was “impressed with how the cinematography supported the emotionality of the story and allowed us to really deeply feel with the characters”, and the Nora Ephron Award for Pribar, as she was deemed to have told an outstanding story through non-speaking. Also, Swiss director Bettina Oberli received the Nora Ephron’s Jury Special Mention for her My Wonderful Wanda [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bettina Oberli
film profile].

As for the remaining awards, Indian writer-director Prashant Nair received the Best Screenplay Award for his Tryst With Destiny, Mexican thesp Noe Hernandez was awarded the Best Actor gong for Kokoloko by Gerardo Naranjo, for his “raw and brave performance, taking a giant leap of faith, hand-to-hand with his director”, and Ainu Mosir by Takeshi Fukunaga received the Jury’s Special Mention. Furthermore, Chilean director Gaspar Antillo received the Best New Narrative Director Award for his debut, Nobody Knows I’m Here.

In the Documentary Competition, the jury, comprising Yance Ford, Regina K Scully, Ryan Fleck, Chris Pine and Peter Deming, handed the Best Documentary Feature Award to Socks on Fire by Bo McGuire, for “using new techniques woven into documentary filmmaking and narrative storytelling”, while Wonderboy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anissa Bonnefont
film profile] by Anissa Bonnefont snagged the Jury’s Special Mention.

Here is the full list of the international competition winners at the 19^th Tribeca Film Festival:

International Narrative Feature Competition

Best International Narrative Feature
The Hater [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Jan Komasa (Poland)

Special Jury Mention
Ainu Mosir – Takeshi Fukunaga (Japan/USA/China)

Best Actress in an International Narrative Feature Film
Shira Haas – Asia [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Israel)

Best Actor in an International Narrative Feature Film
Noe Hernandez – Kokoloko (Mexico)

Best Cinematography in an International Narrative Feature Film
Daniella Nowitz – Asia

Best Screenplay in an International Narrative Feature Film
Prashant Nair – Tryst With Destiny (India/France)

Documentary Competition

Best Documentary Feature Film
Socks on Fire – Bo McGuire (USA)

Special Jury Mention
Wonderboy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anissa Bonnefont
film profile] – Anissa Bonnefont (France)

Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature Film
Alejandro Mejia – 499 (Mexico)

Best Editing in a Documentary Feature Film
Amy Foote – Father Soldier Son (USA)

Other awards

Best New Narrative Director
Gaspar Antillo – Nobody Knows I’m Here (Chile)

Albert Maysles New Documentary Director Award
Jessica Earnshaw – Jacinta (USA)
Special Mention
The Last Out – Sami Khan, Michael Gassert (USA)

The Nora Ephron Award
Asia – Ruthy Pribar
Special Jury Mention
My Wonderful Wanda [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bettina Oberli
film profile] – Bettina Oberli (Switzerland)