Tribeca Announces Annual Prize Winners

Winners were announced late yesterday evening for this year's Tribeca Film Festival. The long list of awards included a slate of stories about New York economics, war-torn African nations, and the pain of adolescent alienation — as seen through the eyes of a bloodsucking vampire.

The festival's artistic director, Peter Scarlet, said he was excited about the youth and variety of this year's trophy winners. "It's especially gratifying to see that the members of our juries selected an extremely diverse group of films, in terms of both their themes and their countries of production," he said in a press release circulated yesterday. "And that the majority of the prizes are going to filmmakers and performers who are all at an early stage of their careers."

Each of this year's winning films will be given an additional screening on Sunday afternoon. Information on times, venues, and tickets can be found at tribecafilmfestival.org.

Director Tomas Alfredson wowed jury voters with "Let the Right One In" (screening Fri.), a coming-of-age tale that gives way to a remarkable vampire thriller, in which blood and gore stand side by side with the innocence of a 12-year-old trying to find his place in the world. The movie won the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature.

Gini Reticker's "Pray the Devil Back to Hell" (screening Sat., Sun.) won Best Documentary Feature. The film tells the true-life story of how a defiant group of Liberian women put an end to their nation's violence and brought about the election of Africa's first female head of state. A statement by Tribeca's documentary jury read: "In a relentless pursuit of peace, the women of Liberia show us how community, motherly love, and perseverance can change the fate of a society."

The fascinating, flabbergasting economics of New York City led to two films being honored as quintessential local stories. The New York Loves Film award went to Daniela Zanzotto's "Zoned In" (showing Fri., Sat., Sun.), an eight-years-in-the-making documentary that follows a 16-year-old's transition from a Bronx high school to an Ivy League university.

The Made in NY award went to director Richard Ledes for his captivating neo-noir "The Caller" (showing Fri., Sun.), starring Frank Langella as a corporate executive who blows the whistle on his company before hiring a private eye (played by Elliott Gould) to watch over him.

A special mention from the jury singled out Douglas Keeve's "Hotel Gramercy Park" (showing Fri.), about the demise, renovation, and re-creation of the famed New York institution.

Two festival awards were reserved for first-time filmmakers. Huseyin Karabey was named Best New Narrative Filmmaker for "My Marlon and Brando" (showing Sat., Sun.), a movie featuring two actors playing themselves as they re-enact the true story of how their love affair was destroyed by war in the Middle East. The Best New Documentary Filmmaker award went to Carlos Carcas, for "Old Man Bebo" (showing Sat., Sun.), a profile of the great Cuban musician Bebo Valdés.

The audience-based Cadillac Award is scheduled to be announced later this weekend. Also bestowed with awards on Thursday were Thomas Turgoose and Piotr Jagiello, for their performances in Shane Meadows's "Somers Town," and Eileen Walsh, for her performance in Declan Recks's "Eden." Steph Green's "New Boy" was singled out as the festival's best narrative short; Jessica Habie's "Mandatory Service" was named best documentary short, and Sasie Sealy's "Elephant Garden" was honored with the Student Visionary Award.

The Tribeca Film Festival continues through Sunday evening.

ssnyder@nysun.com