Hamptons International Film Festival Announces 2018 Award Winners

he 26th Hamptons International Film Festival today announced their award winners at a ceremony in East Hampton.

ALL GOOD “ALLES IST GUT”, directed by Eva Trobisch, won the Award for Best Narrative Feature. BORDER “GRÄNS”, directed by Ali Abbasi, received a Special Jury Prize for acting for the two lead actors, Eva Melander and Eero Milonoff. The film was selected as Sweden’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. AND BREATHE NORMALLY, directed by Ísold Uggadóttir (HIFF Screenwriters Lab 2015 Alumni), was awarded the 2018 Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for a Film of Conflict and Resolution, which is accompanied by a $5,000 cash prize. CROSS MY HEART, directed by Sontenish Myers, was awarded the Vimeo Staff Pick Award, which provides a $3,000 cash prize and Vimeo Staff Pick to winning film. ONLY THE WIND IS LISTENING, directed by Emily Anderson, was awarded the Suffolk County Next Exposure Grant. THE CAT RESCUERS, directed by Rob Fruchtman and Steven Lawrence, was awarded the Zelda Penzel Giving Voice to the Voiceless Award. This award is presented to a film that raises public awareness about contemporary social issues, including the moral and ethical treatment and the rights of animals as well as environmental protection. THE SILENCE OF OTHERS was presented with the Victor Rabinowitz & Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice. The film is directed by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar.

Terry Lawler, the outgoing longtime Executive Director of NYWIFT, was presented with the “Industry Advocate for Women Award” from HIFF Executive Director Anne Chaisson. This was the inaugural presentation named to an industry advocate for women.

The Audience Award, sponsored by Out East, will be announced tomorrow.

As previously announced Alan Alda was honored with the “The Dick Cavett Artistic Champion Award,” presented by Alec Baldwin at the festival. 2018 Breakthrough Artists included Kayli Carter (PRIVATE LIFE), Cory Michael Smith (1985) & Amandla Stenberg (THE HATE U GIVE).

This year’s Narrative Jury was compromised of Geralyn Dreyfous, Academy Award®-winning producer of BORN INTO BROTHELS, THE SQUARE and THE INVISIBLE WAR and founder of the Utah Film Center and co-founder of Impact Partners Film Fund, actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Girls, The Punisher, The Last Ship, and LOLA VERSUS and Linus Sandgren, FSF, Academy Award®-winning Cinematographer who collaborated on films including FIRST MAN, LA LA LAND, JOY and AMERICAN HUSTLE. The Documentary Jury included Rory Kennedy, Academy Award®-nominated director of films including ETHEL, LAST DAYS IN VIETNAM and the upcoming ABOVE AND BEYOND: NASA’S JOURNEY TO TOMORROW (which screened at the festival), Jamie Patricof, producer of THE AFTER PARTY, THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE, CAPTAIN FANTASTIC and BLUE VALENTINE, and Alissa Wilkinson, writer and film critic for Vox.

“We offer our sincere praise to this year’s winners and are thankful to all the films that participated in this year’s groundbreaking competition slate,” said David Nugent, HIFF Artistic Director. “In a year in which all of our Screenwriters Lab participants were women, and our competition section was evenly split with 50/50 gender representation, it is great to see that the jury selected four films by female filmmakers.”

“The festival is very fortunate to have an astounding and dynamic team of hard-working staff and volunteers that keep the festival strong,”said Anne Chaisson, HIFF Executive Director. “We are also very appreciative to all the donors, sponsors, film industry, and attendees, including filmmakers and talent that could join us this year to celebrate the latest and greatest of cinema.”

The 26th annual Hamptons International Film Festival took place over Columbus Day Weekend, October 4 – 8, 2018.