19-year-old director wins top award at Tribeca Film Festival
Phillip Youmans and Jane Rosenthal speak onstage at Awards Night - 2019 Tribeca Film Festival on May 2, 2019 in New York City. Photo© Mustafa Önder
NEW YORK, NY: Mustafa ÖNDER
Phillip Youmans was just 17 and finishing high school when he completed his lyrical debut feature film, "Burning Cane." Now, his movie has won the top award at the 18th Tribeca Film Festival.
The 18th annual Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, announced today the winners of the 2019 Tribeca X Awards, sponsored by PwC. Celebrating the best artist and brand collaborations of the past year, Tribeca X expanded this year to honor work in four categories: feature, short, episodic, and VR. The winners were announced at the conclusion of the inaugural Tribeca X: A Day of Conversations, sponsored by PwC. The 2019 Tribeca Film Festival runs April 24 – May 5.
Photo© Mustafa Önder
Rania Attieh won the Nora Ephron Award and a $25,000 prize for Initials S.G. (Iniciales S.G.), pictured below. The award, created seven years ago, honors excellence in storytelling by a female writer or director embodying the spirit and boldness of the late filmmaker.
Tribeca honored innovation in immersive storytelling with its Storyscapes Award, which went to The Key, created by Celine Tricart.
Director Bora Kim, House of Hummingbird (Beol-sae) (South Korea, USA) Photo© Mustafa Önder
“I’m so proud to see our juries reward a group of winners that is truly representative of the diversity of story and accomplishment in craft at this year’s Festival," said Festival Director Cara Cusumano. "We are particularly excited for the many first-time filmmakers the jury chose to recognize, and feel like this year’s winners signal a bright future ahead for independent film.”
Awards were given in the following feature film competition categories: Founders Award for Best Narrative, International Narrative, Documentary, New Narrative Director, the Albert Maysles New Documentary Director, and the Nora Ephron Award, honoring a woman writer or director. Short films were honored in the Narrative, Documentary, Student Visionary, and Animation categories.
Cenk Ertürk, Noah Land (Nuh Tepesi) (Germany, Turkey, USA) Photo© Mustafa Önder
Director Sharine Atif, Jebel Banat (Egypt) Photo© Mustafa Önder
The winners of the Audience Awards, powered by AT&T, which are determined by audience votes throughout the Festival via the Festival app, will be announced on Saturday, May 4th.
In addition to cash awards and in-kind services provided by sponsors including AT&T, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, CHANEL, CNN Films, and PwC, a number of the winners were presented with original pieces of art created by contemporary artists like Jane Dickson, Shepard Fairey, Stephen Hannock, JR, Eddie Kang, Jeff Koons, Walter Robinson, Amy Sillman, Swoon, and Fred Tomaselli.
This year's Festival included 113 feature-length films, 63 short films, and 33 immersive storytelling projects representing 44 countries.
Screenings of the award-winning films will take place throughout the final day of the Festival, Sunday, May 5th, at various venues. Specific times and ticketing information are available here.
Here’s the full list of winners:
U.S. NARRATIVE COMPETITION
Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature
Burning Cane
Directed by Phillip Youmans
Best Actress
Haley Bennett, Swallow
(Special Jury mention: Geetanjali Thapi, Stray Dolls)
Best Actor
Wendell Pierce in Burning Cane
Best Cinematography
Phillip Youmans for Burning Cane
(Special Jury mention: Todd Banhazl, Blow the Man Down)
Best Screenplay
Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy, Blow the Man Down
(Special Jury mention: Ani Simon-Kennedy, The Short History of the Long Road)
INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE COMPETITION
Best Feature
House of Hummingbird (Beol-sae) (South Korea, USA)
Directed and written by Bora Kim
Best Actress
Ji-hu Park, House of Hummingbird (Beol-sae) (South Korea, USA)
Best Actor
Ali Atay, Noah Land (Nuh Tepesi) (Germany, Turkey, USA)
Best Cinematography
Kang Gook-hyun, House of Hummingbird (Beol-sae) (South Korea, USA)
Best Screenplay
Cenk Ertürk, Noah Land (Nuh Tepesi) (Germany, Turkey, USA)
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Best Feature
Scheme Birds (Scotland, Sweden)
Directed and written by Ellen Fiske, Ellinor Hallin
Best Cinematography
Yang Sun, Shuang Liang, Our Time Machine (China)
Best Editing
Jennifer Tiexiera, 17 Blocks (USA)
(Special Jury mention, Rewind)
BEST NEW NARRATIVE DIRECTOR COMPETITION
The Gasoline Thieves (Huachicolero) (Mexico, Spain, UK, USA)
Directed by Edgar Nito
BEST NEW DOCUMENTARY DIRECTOR COMPETITION
Albert Maysles New Documentary Director Award
Scheme Birds (Scotland, Sweden)
Directed by Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin
NORA EPHRON AWARD
Rania Attieh for Initials S.G. (Iniciales S.G.) (Argentina, Lebanon, USA)
Directed by Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia
SHORT FILM COMPETITION
Best Narrative Short
Maja (Denmark)
Directed by Marijana Jankovic
(Special Jury mention: The Dishwasher, written and directed by Nick Hartanto and Sam Roden
Shorts Animation Award
My Mother’s Eyes (UK)
Directed and written by Jenny Wright
Best Documentary Short
Learning To Skateboard In a Warzone (If You’re A Girl) (UK)
Directed by Carol Dysinger
(Special Jury Mention: St. Louis Superman
Student Visionary Award
Jebel Banat (Egypt)
Directed and written by Sharine Atif
(Special Jury mention: Pearl (Zhen Zhu))
STORYSCAPES AWARD
The Key (USA, Iraq) Created by Celine Tricart
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