Hispanic and Latin American Talent Awarded at Tribeca Festival
Monica Sorelle, Rudy Valdez, Daniela Soria Gutiérrez, Joe BREWSTER, and Gabriella A. Moses - Rob Kim / Stringer / Jamie McCarthy / Dominik Bindl / Jason Mendez / Erik Tanner
The Hispanic and Latin American talent from Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the United States were among the top winners announced at the 22nd Tribeca Festival.
With victories in every category, including Best International Narrative Feature, Best Performance, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography, the Brazilian film A Strange Path / Estranho Camino by Guto Parente dominated the international competition. A Strange Path, starring Carlos Francisco, takes place in the middle of the pandemic in mid-March 2020. David, a young filmmaker who has returned to his native Brazil for quarantine, is followed in the movie. He contacts his eccentric father Gerardo, with whom he hasn't spoken to in more than ten years because he can see no other viable option. Weird things start to happen as David gets to Gerardo's flat.
In the U.S. Narrative competition, Mexican director of photography Carolina Costa won the Best Cinematography Award for her work in Hannaj Peterson’s The Graduates. The Tribeca jury praised the film’s naturalistic approach to lighting tight compositions, claiming the cinematographer supported the emotional journey of the film. Haitian American director Monica Sorelle received a Special Jury Mention in the U.S. Narrative competition for her debut feature Mountains. The drama tells the story of Xavier, a Haitian demolition worker living in Florida, who dreams of buying a bigger house for his family while his adult son, caught between two cultures, struggles to find a place for himself.
Director Gabriella A. Moses won the Nora Ephron Award for her debut feature, the Dominican film Boca Chica, a coming-of-age drama that follows a twelve-year-old named Desi in her pursuit of becoming a famous singer as she braces to leave her hometown. The jury points out how the filmmaker expertly portrays the disparity between how the American dream is perceived outside of the United States versus the experience of immigrants freshly arriving on American soil.
Mexican director Daniela Soria Gutiérrez was the winner of the Student Visionary Award for her short film Fairytales / Cuentos de hadas, a fantasy drama about Lidia, who befriends Arantxa with a fabricated tale at a religious retreat. However, Lidia questions her lies and the true essence of friendship upon discovering a dead fairy. The Best Documentary Short award was presented to Black Girls Play, directed by Afro-Latina director Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster. The story explores the driving force in music, culture, and society spanning multiple generations. Latino director Rudy Valdez won the Tribeca X Award for Best Short for Translators, which follows Harye, Densel, and Virginia, a few of the over 11 million child translators in the United States, as they translate for their parents in everyday situations.
Additionally, the Ecuadorian soccer game Despelote by Julián Cordero and Sebastian Valbuena received a Special Mention in the Tribeca Games competition. The 22nd edition of the Tribeca Festival took place June 7-18, 2023, in New York City. Select films, including some award-winning titles, will be available on Tribeca at Home, beginning June 19 through July 2.