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The Two Popes, Oliver Sacks: His Own Life And Fire In Paradise Take Audience Awards At The 27th Annual Hamptons International Film Festival!!

theater + film :: The Hamptons International Film Festival


The Hamptons International Film Festival, presented by HamptonsFilm, today announced their audience awards for the 27th edition from East Hampton. THE TWO POPES , directed by Fernando Meirelles, took home the Audience Award for Narrative Feature. OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE , directed by Ric Burns, took home the Audience Award for Documentary Feature. FIRE IN PARADISE , directed by Drea Cooper & Zackary Canepari, won the Audience Award for Best Short Film.


Trey Edward Shults , writer and director of HIFF’s Closing Night Film WAVES, received the inaugural Zicherman Family Foundation Screenwriting Award. This $10,000 award is presented to an early-career screenwriter who has demonstrated singular vision and dedication to their craft. This award seeks to both celebrate their current work and encourage the development of future projects.

The festival ran from October 10th through October 14th and played over 120 films from around the world.


“We are thrilled to announce this year’s audience award winners. Filmgoers were captivated by the dynamic performances and historic moments in religious history of THE TWO POPES, the exploration of extraordinary neurologist and storyteller Oliver Sacks in OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE, and the gripping recount of the terrifying wildfires in Butte County, California in FIRE IN PARADISE,” said HamptonsFilm Artistic Director David Nugent. “We are proud to have screened all the films in this year’s program for our audiences out East and share such a strong slate of cinema.”

Additional HIFF awards for the 27th edition were also handed out yesterday in East Hampton. The full list of winners below:

Hamptons International Film Festival Congratulates The 2019 Winners

The HIFF Audience Award Winner for Narrative Feature
THE TWO POPES, directed by Fernando Meirelles

The HIFF Audience Award Winner for Documentary Feature
OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE, directed by Ric Burns

The HIFF Audience Award Winner for Short
FIRE IN PARADISE, directed by Drea Cooper & Zackary Canepari

Zicherman Family Foundation Screenwriting Award
Trey Edward Shults, writer and director of WAVES

The HIFF Award Winner for Best Narrative Feature sponsored by Warby Parker
A WHITE, WHITE DAY, directed by Hlynur Pálmason

HIFF Award Winner for Best Documentary Feature sponsored by Investigation Discovery
OVERSEAS, directed by Sung-a Yoon

The HIFF Award Winner for Best Narrative Short Film
JUST ME AND YOU, directed by Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers

The HIFF Award Winner for Best Documentary Short Film
GHOSTS OF SUGAR LAND, directed by Bassam Tariq

Special Cinematography Award
Miguel Ioann Litten Menz for THE VAST OF NIGHT
Breakthrough Achievement in Filmmaking Award
THE BEST OF DORIEN B., directed by Anke Blondé

Special Jury Mentions for Acting Performances
Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir for IN A WHITE, WHITE DAY
Mama Sane in ATLANTICS
Corinna Harfouch in LARA
Kim Snauwaert in THE BEST OF DORIEN B.
Sierra McCormick in THE VAST OF NIGHT

Special Jury Prize for Artistic Vision
CUNNINGHAM, directed by Alla Kovgan

Special Jury Prize for Indomitable Spirit of Storytelling
TALKING ABOUT TREES, directed by Suhaib Gasmelbari

Special Jury Prize for Originality
ALL CATS ARE GREY IN THE DARK, directed by Lasse Linder
Special Jury Prize for Creative Filmmaking
THE NIGHTCRAWLERS, directed by Alexander A. Mora

The 2019 Brizzolara Family Foundation Award to Films of Conflict and Resolution
FOR SAMA, directed by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts

Suffolk County Next Exposure Grant
THE ARTIST’S WIFE, directed by Tom Dolby

The Zelda Penzel “Giving Voice to the Voiceless” Award
WATSON, directed by Lesley Chilcott

Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice
CONSCIENCE POINT, directed by Treva Wurmfeld

University Short Film Awards sponsored by Bloomingdales
BIRCH, directed by Paisley Valentine Walsh
THE BOXERS OF BRULE, directed by Jessie Adler
FINE, directed by Maya Yadlin
PERFECT MOMENT, directed by Matthew Noydens
THE UNITED STATES OF PARANOIA OR: HOW I STAYED ON THE LINE TO REPAIR MY AIR CONDITIONER,
directed by Rashan Castro

Lifetime Achievement Award
Brian De Palma
The Dick Cavett Artistic Champion Award
Toni Ross

2019 Breakthrough Artists
Aldis Hodge, Camila Morrone, Lulu Wang

About Our Local International Festival


The 27th Annual Hamptons International Film Festival was held over Columbus Day Weekend – October 10 – 14, 2019. HIFF is a year-round 501(c)3 non-profit organization with events, screenings, film workshops, comprehensive summer programs and an annual film festival each October. The Festival is the premiere film event on New York State’s east end, and is an intimate showcase of some of the year’s best offerings in contemporary cinema from around the world. With cash and in-kind prizes handed out totaling more than $200,000, HIFF continues to attract some of the best films of the year. Selections from all of our programs continue to play an important role during awards season. Selections from all of our programs continue to play an important role during awards season. 2019 marked the 9th time in a row that a film in the Festival has become the eventual Best Picture winner at the Oscars, making HIFF the only Festival on the East Coast with such a distinction. hamptonsfilmfest.org


You can keep up with updates by following us on twitter @hamptonsmedia and bookmarking our People & Parties pages for full write-ups and videos and interviews…or even use the rss feed on this blog! You can find handy links to both The Hamptons International Film Festival plus lodging and/or dining from Westhampton to Montauk on “The Hamptons”.com

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October 17th, 2019 Posted by | theater & film | no comments

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