Urbanworld 2015 Festival Award WinnersPosted by Wilson Morales
September 27, 2014
The 19th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival (urbanworld.org), presented by BET Networks with founding sponsor HBO, announced the awards for the screenplay, feature, narrative short, narrative feature (U.S. and world) and audience categories today. The nation’s largest competitive multicultural film festival screened over 80 films concluded its five day festival with an awards reception hosted by Tai Beauchamp and Gbenga Akinnagbe at Tribeca Grill Loft in New York’s Tribeca area.
“This year’s slate of winners continues to exemplify the increasing diversity of storytellers with fresh voices and cultural relevance,” said Gabrielle Glore, Festival Director, Urbanworld® Film Festival. “As we celebrate our winners, honorable mention selections and overall slate of filmmakers, it’s gratifying to know that we have contributed to their journey.”
This year’s ambassador Tyrese Gibson attended the ceremony and gave some encouraging advise to all about keeping dreams alive.
The 18th Annual Urbanworld® Film Festival winners are:
Best Screenplay – Y Los Hipsters Que? Written by: Yohanna Baez (Presented by BET Networks – $5,000 Prize)
Best Feature Documentary – (Presented by BET Networks – $5,000 Prize)
Winner – We Like It Like That – The Story of Latin Boogaloo
Directed by Mathew Ramirez Warren
Latin boogaloo is New York City. It is a product of the melting pot, a colorful expression of 1960s Latino soul, straight from the streets of El Barrio, the South Bronx and Brooklyn. Starring Latin boogaloo legends like Joe Bataan, Johnny Colon and Pete Rodriguez, We Like It Like That explores this lesser-known, but pivotal moment in Latin music history, through original interviews, music recordings, live performances, dancing and rare archival footage and images. From its origins to its recent resurgence in popularity, We Like It Like That tells the story of a sound that redefined a generation and was too funky to keep down.
Honorable Mention – Looking at the Stars by director Alexandre Peralta
Looking at the Stars tells the story of inspiring young women chasing their dream: in a world built on sight and sound, they are part of the only ballet school for blind, located in São Paulo, Brazil. This documentary focuses on Geyza, one of the instructors and the star of the academy. She lost her sight at the age of nine, and learning ballet changed her life forever. We follow her life and struggles in a city that wasn’t built for the blind. It is a film about the beauty of dance and, above all, about the beauty of perseverance.
Best Narrative Short – (Presented by Time Warner – $5,000 Prize)
Winner – Standing8 by director Michael Molina Minard
During a grueling ten-round undercard match-up, journeyman boxer Abdul loses control and kills his opponent Luis Hernandez in the ring. Months later, Abdul has to prepare for his next fight—the biggest fight of his career. No one suspects the deadly duel with Luis still haunts Abdul’s every move, threatening his grip on reality and life. But when neurologist, Debra Olajide, discovers his secret, suspecting a chronic brain injury, she hesitates to sign Abdul’s health certificate. Despite inconclusive test results and the doctor’s warnings, Abdul shows up for a sparring session at Hernandez’s former gym, blacks-out unconsciously and beats his sparring partner to a pulp.
Honorable Mention – Stanhope by director Solvan “Slick” Naim
This short film tells the story of Stanhope, a young teenager from a single parent home. He has an active imagination and escapes by reading and drawing comic book sketches. His mom Denise struggles to stay afloat with five kids and works two jobs to make ends meet, as a result Stanhope spends a great deal of time with his Grandmother. One day she agrees to buy him his first skateboard and what happens next changes the course of Stanhope’s life when his morals take a tragic turn.
Best Narrative Feature (U.S. Cinema) – Pocha by Michael Dwyer
(Presented by Fox Audience Strategy – $5,000 Prize)
Cast includes Julio Cesar Cedillo, Daniele Watts, Sandra Santiago, Veronica Sixtos, Roberto Urbina.
After being deported from the U.S.A. for credit card fraud, Claudia (22) is forced to go to her estranged father’s cattle ranch in northern México. Struggling to adapt to family and a way of life she has never known, she partners with a dangerous smuggler who promises to get her back to America if she helps him trespass on her family’s ranch. Both a slow burning thriller and classic western, POCHA (MANIFEST DESTINY) follows the transformative journey of a young woman confronting the high price of American ideals in the dark places between two cultures.
Honorable Mention – A Girl Like Grace by director Ty Hodges
A Girl Like Grace, follows seventeen-year-old “Grace” (Ryan Destiny), who grows up in a dysfunctional home raised by her single mother “Lisa” (Garcelle Beauvais). Entering her senior year of high school, Grace fights for acceptance in the world while being bullied at school by “Mary” (Raven Symone). Grace looks for guidance from her best friend “Andrea” (Paige Hurd) and becomes heavily influenced by Andrea’s older sister “Share” (Meagan Good). Grace spirals into a dark world of sex, rebellion and her idea of womanhood. Faced with life’s cruelty, Grace must find a way to make peace with herself and claim her own beauty in this gritty yet relatable coming-of-age story.
Best Narrative Feature (World Cinema) – Carmin Tropical by director Rigoberto Perezcano
Successful trans nightclub singer Mabel returns to her hometown in Mexico to investigate the murder of her best friend Daniela. With no leads and little insight into Daniela’s death, Mabel digs deeper into her friend’s past, realizing how her own upbringing and past life overlap unnervingly with that of her murdered friend. In order to fully comprehend what happened to Daniela, Mabel must embrace a world she desperately tried to leave behind. Directed with a potent mixture of nostalgia and dread, CARMIN TROPICAL carefully unveils a fascinating and increasingly sinister mystery that questions whether or not we can escape our own fate.
Audience Award Winner Best Feature – Somewhere In The Middle by Lanre Olabisi
(Presented by Panavision – $15,000 camera package donation of Panavision equipment)
Four lovers collide into each others’ lives as one marriage morphs into several intertwining affairs. SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE was born out of a year long improvisational process in which the actors and director mutually crafted an ensemble drama. Structured like a jigsaw puzzle, no character fully grasps their current dilemma as interwoven stories are retold from varying viewpoints.
Audience Award Winner Best Short – Taking Chance by Jerry Lamothe
(Presented by Panavision – $5,000 camera package donation of Panavision equipment)
Chance, a young aspiring artist from Brooklyn, wants nothing more but to achieve his dreams of making it big. He looks forward to creating music that speaks to a loving and peaceful world. However, in today’s’ society, such ambitions can prove difficult especially in a community where the mantra ‘do or die’ still has a strong hold on those around him. With the state of social media and a culture that follows your every move, Chance faces overwhelming pressure from his alpha brother and peers alike, to face a bully he would rather reason with or ignore. If only someone else was on his side…
Additional information and video from the festival can be found on urbanworld.org.
Along with presenting sponsor BET Networks and founding sponsor HBO, Comcast NBCUniversal Telemundo was a premiere sponsor and industry circle supporters included Fox Global Directors Initiative, Cinemax, Interactive One, Panavision, MoviePass, Moguldom, RLJ Entertainment, the Directors Guild of America and AMC Theatres.
