THE 10th URBANWORLD VIBE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2006 WINNERS




(New York, NY)—The 10th Annual Urbanworld VIBE Film Festival today announced the winners for feature, documentary, short film, screenplay and music video categories. The five day festival was held June 21-25 in New York City; wrapping up on Sunday, June 25 with a closing awards brunch to congratulate the competition’s winners. Urbanworld, which screened 70 films this year, is the largest internationally competitive festival dedicated to the exhibition of independent cinema by and about people of color.

The 10th Annual Urbanworld VIBE Film Festival winners are:


Best Narrative Feature Film

Wholetrain

Directed By Florian Gaag & Produced By Christoph Müller, Sven Burgemeister, Silke Bacher

Awarded $5,000 cash prize by Lionsgate

Best Narrative Documentary Film (Feature Length)

American Blackout

Directed By Ian Inaba & Produced By Anastasia King

Awarded $10,000 cash prize from Wal-Mart Voices of Color Film Series

Best Narrative Short Documentary Film

Adios, Para Siempre

Directed By David Guillermo Barba & Produced By Maruán Soto Antaki

Awarded $10,000 cash prize from HBO

Best Documentary Short Film

God Sleeps in Rwanda

Directed & Produced By Kimberly Acquaro, Stacy Sherman

Awarded $5,000 cash prize from HBO

Best Music Video

Churrp

Directed By Eric Shoe and Produced By PJ Sodaski

Awarded MTV2’s “Sucka Free Sunday” and MTV’s “Sucker Free” showcases, with the full video and a feature on the director shown on MTV’s broadband channel Overdrive

Best Screenplay

The Man Who’s Never Been Kissed

Written By Joe Robert Cole

Awarded $5,000 cash prize by Warner Bros. Entertainment

Audience Award Winner

Word Life: The Hip-Hop Project

Directed & Produced By Matt Ruskin & Scott K. Rosenberg

Awarded $10,000 in film stock by Kodak

Check the October issue of VIBE magazine for the 2006 Urbanworld VIBE Film Festival Readers' Choice Award, sponsored by Burger King

“On behalf of the 2006 Urbanworld VIBE Film Festival, I proudly congratulate the talented winners of the Festival’s 10th annual competition,” said Stacy Spikes, founder of Urbanworld.  “With the generous support and encouragement of both the Hollywood community and our sponsors, Urbanworld continues to wholeheartedly embrace excellence in films by and about people of color; which is well represented in the Festival’s 2006 winners.” 

Highlights of The 10th Annual Urbanworld VIBE Film Festival included the world premiere of VH1’s Last Days of Left Eye, a vibrant documentary recounting the life of Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes, as well as a spotlight screening of Focus Feature’s Waist Deep, starring Tyrese Gibson, Meagan Good, and The Game.  Urbanworld also presented a special screening of Official Sponsor Wal-Mart’s The Will to Survive – The Story of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, which explores the past, present, and precarious future of the Gullah/Geechee Nation and offers a rare glimpse into the soul of Georgia’s Sapelo Island, as well as a special screening of Shaft, in honor of the film’s late director Gordon Parks.

Urbanworld previously announced a strategic partnership with VIBE magazine, the preeminent brand in urban music and culture, to serve as the exclusive national urban consumer magazine, providing pre- and post-event exposure in the magazine and on VIBE.com in support of the Festival.