Jon Favreau‘s “Chef” and the jazz documentary “Keep On Keepin’ On” have won the Heineken Audience Awards at the Tribeca Film Festival, TFF organizers announced on Saturday night in New York City.
“Keep On Keepin’ On,” which chronicles the 89-year-old jazz trumpeter Clark Terry, also won the Best New Documentary Director award for Alan Hicks at Tribeca’s jury awards on Thursday. Earlier Saturday, RADiUS-TWC announced that it had acquired worldwide distribution for the documentary.
The film was produced by Quincy Jones and Paula DuPre Pesmen. Its Tribeca premiere was followed by a concert featuring Jones, Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves and other jazz luminaries.
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“Chef,” directed by and starring Favreau with a cast that also includes John Leguizamo, Sofia Vergara, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman, Oliver Platt, and Amy Sedaris, deals with a chef (Favreau) who has a social-media meltdown against a food critic, and must try to restart his career with a food truck.
The audience awards carry $25,000 prizes, and Favreau announced that he would donate his prize to City Harvest, a New York-based food rescue organization.
The awards also bring an additional gift of art. Favreau received a piece, “Untitled,” by James Nares, while Hicks received “Iguaca” by Alexis Rockman.
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Audience members at Tribeca voted for the Heineken Audience Awards at the conclusion of screenings in the World Narrative Competition, World Documentary Competition, Viewpoints, Midnight, and Spotlight sections were eligible.
“These films happen to share the common theme of following one’s dreams, the challenging journey to achieve them, and how it cannot be done without true friendship, family and support,” said Genna Terranova, Director of Programming, Tribeca Film Festival. “We are pleased that both films captured the hearts of the NY audiences as they had our own.”
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Both winning films will screen on Sunday, April 27 as part of the festival’s final day. Screening times and information is available at www.tribecafilm.com.
Other jury winners include Talya Lavie’s “Zero Motivation,” which won the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature; Paul Schneider, honored as Best Actor in a Narrative Feature for “Goodbye to All That”; Valeria Bruni Tedesci, Best Actress in a Narrative Feature for “Human Capital”; Damian Garcia, Best Cinematography for “Gueros”; Guillaume Nicloux, Best Screenplay for “The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq; Keith Miller, Best Narrative Editing for “Five Star.”
Documentary awards went to “Point and Shoot,” Best Documentary Feature, and “Ne Me Quitte Pas,” Best Documentary Editing.
Josef Wladyka won the award for Best New Narrative Director for “Manos Sucias.”
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Short film winners included “The Phone Call,” “One Year Lease” and “Nesma’s Bird.” The Bombay Sapphire Award for Transmedia went to “Clouds,” while the Nora Ephron Prize went to “Zero Motivation.”
Tribeca Online Festival winners were “Vara: A Blessing” and “Love in the Time of March Madness.”