East Hampton, NY (October 15, 2024) – The 32nd Hamptons International Film Festival, presented by HamptonsFilm, today announced the winners for feature and short competition sections and audience awards. This year HIFF screened a lineup of films that are 45% female-directed and represent 50 countries from around the world. The festival screened 89 features and 61 shorts with 14 World Premieres, 2 International Premieres, 9 North American Premieres, 15 US Premieres, 18 East Coast Premieres, and 33 New York Premieres.
ARMAND, directed by Halfdan Ullman Tøndel, won the Award for Best Narrative Feature. The film received a $2,500 cash prize, and $72,500 in in-kind goods and services, sponsored by Panavision, Hamptons Locations, and On Location Education.
“Armand is an intense journey into the complexities of human nature. Halfdan Ullman Tøndel has skillfully crafted a narrative that grips you from start to finish, featuring Renate Reinsve in a stunning performance that lingers long after viewing. We are delighted to present Armand with the Best Narrative Feature award, celebrating its bold exploration of accountability and the tumultuous path to redemption.” said Narrative Competition Jury members Joanna Arnow, Wyatt Cenac, and Genevive Villaflor.
VIKTOR, directed by Olivier Sarbil, received the Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film received a $2,500 cash prize and $20,000 in in-kind goods and services, sponsored by GreenSlate and 91 East Productions.
“Amid a remarkable selection of documentary films this year, we are privileged to present Best Documentary Feature to Olivier Sarbil’s Viktor.Sarbil’s innovative approach, fusing striking black-and-white imagery with inventive sound design, adds an extraordinary depth to Viktor’s journey, inviting audiences to engage with a conflict that remains inaudible to him yet resonates powerfully through his steadfast determination. This documentary not only illuminates the resilience of the human spirit but also reveals the intricate realities faced by those on the fringes of war,” said the Documentary Competition Jury members Ebs Burnough, Rachel Fleit, and Tomris Laffly.
L’AVANCE, directed by Djiby Kebe, received the Award for Best Narrative Short Film, and UNTIL HE’S BACK, directed by Jacqueline Baylon, won for Best Documentary Short Film. Both films received $1,000 cash prizes and will qualify for Academy Awards® consideration.
The Narrative Competition Jury recognized Nicolas Keppens’s BEAUTIFUL MEN with a Special Jury Prize for its comedy, originality and thoughtful portrayal of masculinity. The Documentary Competition Jury recognized WALK WITH ME with a Special Jury Prize for director Heidi Levitt’s intimacy and generosity.
Hamptons International Film Festival audiences selected narrative feature BOB TREVINO LIKES IT, directed by Tracie Laymon, and documentary feature THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ALLEE WILLIS, directed by Alexis Spraic, for this year’s Audience Awards. A SWIM LESSON, directed by Rashida Jones & Will McCormack received this year’s Audience Award for Best Short Film.
The festival also announced winners for additional special awards:
ZURAWSKI V TEXAS, directed by Maisie Crow & Abbie Perrault, was awarded the 2024 Artemis Rising Foundation Award for Social Impact. The Artemis Rising Foundation champions powerful stories about our most challenging social justice issues—including gender-bias, healing, trauma, mental health, addiction and women’s empowerment. This award honors one film that transforms our culture and challenges the status quo. The award is accompanied by a $15,000 cash prize.
JANE AUSTEN’S PERIOD DRAMA, directed by Julia Aks and Steve Pinder, was awarded the 2024 Peter Macgregor-Scott Memorial Award. The award, which is accompanied by a $10,000 cash prize, aims to continue the celebrated producer’s mentorship for a new generation of passionate filmmakers. Sponsored by Susan Macgregor-Scott, this award is specifically designed to recognize narrative short filmmakers and reward creative approaches to solving practical production challenges in the service of storytelling.
ANTIDOTE, directed by James Jones, was awarded the Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for Films of Conflict and Resolution. The film will receive a $5,000 cash prize. This award recognizes films in the Films of Conflict & Resolution program, which is dedicated to showcasing films that deal with the complex issues and societal effects of war and violence.
I’M YOUR VENUS, directed by Kimberly Reed, was presented with the Victor Rabinowitz & Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice. The annual award, which is accompanied by a $2,000 cash prize presented by Mark Rabinowitz, is presented to a film that exemplifies the values of peace, equality, global justice, and civil liberties, and is named in honor of two people who spent their entire lives fighting for those values: civil rights lawyer Victor Rabinowitz and his wife Joanne Grant, an author, filmmaker and journalist.
CHECKPOINT ZERO, directed by Joshua Zeman, received the Zelda Penzel “Giving Voice to the Voiceless” Award. Presented to a film in the Compassion, Justice & Animal Rights Signature program, the award recognizes a film that inspires compassion, compels social change, and raises public awareness about the moral and ethical treatment and the rights of animals, as well as environmental protection. The film was awarded a $2,500 cash prize.
CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER’S POINT, directed by Tyler Taormina, was awarded the 2024 Suffolk County Next Exposure Grant. This $3,000 grant is awarded to a feature film in the Views From Long Island Signature Program. This program supports the completion of high quality, original director-driven, low budget independent films from both emerging and established filmmakers who have completed 50% of principal photography within Suffolk County, New York. Sponsored by the Suffolk County Film Commission.
A NICE INDIAN BOY, directed by Roshan Sethi, and SABBATH QUEEN, directed by Sandi DuBowski, were awarded the 2024 Sherzum Awards. Sponsored by producer Jayne Baron Sherman, a long time LGBTQ+ activist, this award is designed to acknowledge and foster stories about LGBTQ+ people, issues and concerns. Named for Jayne and her wife Deborah Zum, the Sherzum Award will encourage films that show the realities and challenges—as well as successes—of the people and communities it represents. The films were awarded a $5,000 and $2,500 cash prize respectively.
BOB TREVINO LIKES IT, directed by Tracie Laymon, and THE LAST OF THE SEA WOMEN, directed by Sue Kim, were awarded the New York Women in Film & Television Award for Excellence in Narrative Filmmaking, and the New York Women in Film & Television Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking, respectively. These awards honor outstanding female filmmakers who have demonstrated exceptional artistic vision and dedication to their craft. Both films received a $1,000 cash prize and a six-month membership to NYWIFT.
The festival also announced the recipients of the University Short Film Awards, honoring emerging young talent and awarding five filmmakers cash prizes of $500 each. Awardees include PRAEIS, directed by Dovydas Drakšas (London Film School), TORNADO, directed by Jack Kendrick (NYU), BUG DINER, directed by Phoebe Jane Hart (California Institute of the Arts), MY MORNING, directed by Liav Tamuz(Minshar School for Art, Israel), and THE TRUCK, directed by Elizabeth Rao (NYU).
As previously announced the festival honored Demi Moore with the Career Achievement in Acting Award; Liev Schreiber with the Dick Cavett Artistic Champion Award; Clarence Maclin with the Breakthrough Performer Award; Malcolm Washington with the Breakthrough Director Award; and Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein with the Achievement in Screenwriting Award.
This year’s Narrative Feature Competition Jury was composed of filmmaker, writer and actor Joanna Arnow; “The Daily Show” writer and comedian Wyatt Cenac; and Sag Harbor Cinema Executive Director Genevive Villaflor. The Documentary Feature Competition Jury included Sundance Institute Board Chair Ebs Burnough, documentary filmmaker Rachel Fleit, and film critic and entertainment journalist Tomris Laffly.
This year the Festival was honored to partner with the New York Film Critics Circle for the sixteenth year.
“We congratulate all of our award winners and thank them for bringing their incredible stories and creative art to our audiences out East,” said HamptonsFilm Artistic Director David Nugent. This year brought projects and storytellers from across the globe. Seeing how many projects had the power to personally touch our filmgoers is what brings us back each year. We are thankful to everyone including our staff, filmmakers, volunteers and audiences who make the festival possible each year.”
Attendees of the 2024 festival included Alec Baldwin, David Burtka, James Carville, Raúl Castillo, Alina Cho, Patricia Clarkson, Chelsea Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Kenneth Cole, Maisie Crow, Maria Cuomo Cole, Catherine Curtin, R.J. Cutler, Danielle Deadwyler, Andrew Garfield, Jonathan Groff, Mariska Hargitay, John Heilemann, Marielle Heller, John Benjamin Hickey, André Holland, Dave Holstein, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Rashida Jones, Donna Karan, Ed Lachman, Meg LeFauve, Clarence Maclin, Stephanie March, Ariella Mastroianni, Demi Moore, Julianne Moore, Abbie Pernault, Jason Reitman, Liev Schreiber, Ben Shenkman, John Slattery, Ryan J. Sloan, Barry Sonnenfeld, Sawyer Spielberg, Martha Stewart, Marisa Tomei, Matt Tyrnauer, Halfdan Ullman Tøndel, Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez, Malcolm Washington, John David Washington, Joshua Zeman and more.
The festival awarded prizes to filmmakers in cash and goods and services of over $130,000 this year, with over $5 million awarded in competition funds and services over the past 32 years.
HIFF thanks this year’s festival sponsors: new Presenting Sponsor Regina K. Scully’s Artemis Rising Foundation; returning sponsors Premier Sponsor Audi; Signature Sponsors UBS, Naturopathica, and King & Spalding; official Media Partners WNBC, The Atlantic, The East Hampton Star, The Purist, and Variety; Contributing Sponsors Direct TV, Silvercup Studios, E11even Vodka, Netflix, Assemble Media, Wolffer Estate, Sotheby’s, il Buco, and Dragon Hemp; and foundation supporters New York State Council on the Arts and Suffolk County Film Commission. For more information, please visit www.hamptonsfilmfest.org.
HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL CONGRATULATES THE 2024 WINNERS:
HIFF Award Winner for Best Narrative Feature
ARMAND, directed by Halfdan Ullman Tøndel
HIFF Award Winner for Best Documentary Feature
VIKTOR, directed by Olivier Sarbil
HIFF Best Documentary Feature Special Mention
WALK WITH ME, directed by Heidi Levitt
HIFF Award Winner for Best Narrative Short Film
L’AVANCE, directed by Djiby Kebe
HIFF Award Winner for Best Documentary Short Film
UNTIL HE’S BACK, directed by Jacqueline Baylon
HIFF Best Narrative Short Film Special Mention
BEAUTIFUL MEN, directed by Nicolas Keppens
HIFF Audience Award Winner for Best Narrative Feature
BOB TREVINO LIKES IT, directed by Tracie Laymon
HIFF Audience Award Winner for Best Documentary Feature
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ALLEE WILLIS, directed by Alexis Spraic
HIFF Audience Award Winner for Best Short Film
A SWIM LESSON, directed by Rashida Jones & Will McCormack
The Peter Macgregor-Scott Memorial Award
JANE AUSTEN’S PERIOD DRAMA, directed by Julia Aks and Steve Pinder
The 2024 Brizzolara Family Foundation Award to Films of Conflict and Resolution
ANTIDOTE, directed by James Jones
Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice
I’M YOUR VENUS, directed by Kimberly Reed
The Zelda Penzel Giving Voice to the Voiceless Award
CHECKPOINT ZOO, directed by Joshua Zeman
Suffolk County Next Exposure Grant
CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER’S POINT, directed by Tyler Taormina
The Sherzum Award
A NICE INDIAN BOY, directed by Roshan Sethi
SABBATH QUEEN, directed by Sandi DuBowski
New York Women in Film & Television Award for Excellence in Narrative Filmmaking
BOB TREVINO LIKES IT, Tracie Laymon
New York Women in Film & Television Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking
THE LAST OF THE SEA WOMEN, Sue Kim
University Short Film Awards
PRAEIS, directed by Dovydas Drakšas (London Film School)
TORNADO, directed by Jack Kendrick (NYU)
BUG DINER, directed by Phoebe Jane Hart (California Institute of the Arts)
MY MORNING, directed by Liav Tamuz (Minshar School for Art, Israel)
THE TRUCK, directed by Elizabeth Rao (NYU)
Previously Announced Awards:
Career Achievement in Acting Award
Demi Moore
Dick Cavett Artistic Champion Award
Liev Schreiber
Breakthrough Performer Award
Clarence Maclin
Breakthrough Director Award
Malcolm Washington
Achievement in Screenwriting Award
Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein
HIFF Narrative Feature Competition Jury
Joanna Arnow, THE FEELING THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOMETHING HAS PASSED (HIFF 2023) filmmaker, writer and actor
Wyatt Cenac, comedian and writer, best known for his work on “The Daily Show”
Genevive Villaflor, Executive Director of Sag Harbor Cinema
HIFF Documentary Feature Competition Jury
Ebs Burnough, Sundance Institute Board Chair, (THE CAPOTE TAPES, HIFF 2019)
Rachel Fleit, documentary filmmaker (INTRODUCING, SELMA BLAIR, HIFF 2021)
Tomris Laffly, film critic and entertainment journalist; member of the New York Film Critics Circle
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ABOUT HAMPTONSFILM
HamptonsFilm, home of the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) was founded in 1992 to celebrate the art of film and to introduce a unique and varied spectrum of international films and filmmakers to our audiences. A non-profit organization with year-round screenings of global narrative and documentary films, an annual Screenwriters Lab, a summer documentary showcase, and extensive educational initiatives, HamptonsFilm offers programs that enlighten, educate, and provide invaluable exposure for filmmakers, while also providing the East End of Long Island with an educational and cultural experience that enriches the lives of its citizens and contributes to the local economy. HIFF, celebrating its 32nd year, is an annual premiere film event in New York State, and an intimate showcase of some of the year’s best offerings in contemporary cinema from around the world. Awarding prizes to filmmakers in cash and goods and services of over $130,000 each year, with over $5 million awarded in competition funds and services over the decades, our program continues to play an important role during awards season. For more information, please visit hamptonsfilmfest.org.
