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HIFF Announces Award Winners From This Year's Festival

Fri, 05/24/2019 - 13:07
Anne Chaisson, far left, and David Nugent, far right, joined some of the jurors of this years Hampton International Film Festival on Monday morning to give out awards. The jurors are, from left, Julie Goldman, Roger Ross Williams, Toni Ross, and Harris Yulin.

A neighbors' quarrel set in Iceland and a documentary about an eccentric family with big dreams limited by the harsh realities of contemporary Spain led the award winners at the Hamptons International Film Festival. 

Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurosson's "Under the Tree," centered on the passive-aggressive tension that builds up regarding an overgrown tree, was chosen as the winner of the Narrative Competition by a jury of three panelists: Eric Kohn, an editor and film critic; Daniela Taplin Lundberg, a veteran film producer, and Harris Yulin, an actor. 

"Lots of Kids, a Monkey, and a Castle," a film by Gustavo Salmerin, is about a mother's dreams as discovered in a family archive over 15 years. The jury for the documentary award was composed of Julie Goldman, a documentary producer; Toni Ross, a founding board member of the festival, and Roger Ross Williams, an Academy Award winning director. It screens again today at 2 p.m. at the East Hampton cinema.

Reed Van Dyk's short narrative film "Dekalb Elementary" won in its category and "Edith+Eddie" by Laura Checkoway was named best documentary short film. Jessica Kingdon's short documentary, "Commodity City," was given an honorable mention. The audience award will be announced tomorrow.

The festival attendees chose Nicolas Bedos’s “Mr. and Mrs. Adelman” as their favorite narrative feature and “Love, Cecil” by Lisa Immordino Vreeland as best documentary. “Long Shot,” directed by Jacob LaMendola, was selected by the audience as best short film.

Other awards bestowed were the Tangerine Entertainment Juice Fund Award given to Maggie Betts for her film "Novitiate." "Wanderland," directed by Josh Klausner, won a Suffolk County Film Commission Next Exposure Grant.

"Hondros," a film directed by Greg Campbell about the war photographer Chris Hondros, won the Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for a Film of Conflict and Resolution. Allison Argo's "The Last Pig" won the Zelda Penzel Giving Voice to the Voiceless Award. The Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice went to "I Am Evidence," directed by Trish Adlesic and Geeta Gandbhir.

Previously announced awards that were presented over the weekend included a lifetime achievement award to Julie Andrews and Variety's Creative Impact in Acting Award to Patrick Stewart, who participated in a discussion of his career at the festival. Dick Cavett won the premiere Dick Cavett Artistic Champion Award.

This article was modified to include the winners of the festival's audience awards, which were announced after the original article was published.


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