The Tribeca Film Festival gave “King Jack” and “TransFatty Lives” the Narrative and Documentary Audience awards, respectively, on Saturday.
Written and directed by Felix Thompson, the rural drama that made its world premiere at the New York City film festival follows a hardened 15-year-old boy discovering the importance of friendship, family and looking for happiness even in the worst circumstances.
“TransFatty, directed by subject Patrick O’Brien, also made its world premiere at the festival. O’Brien, a former DJ and Internet meme maker, turned the camera on himself to document his life after being diagnosed with ALS and given only two to five years to live. The film is an account of what it’s like to live when you find out you are going to die.
The two Audience award winners and runners-up ” Song of Lahore” and “Sleeping With Other People” will screen on Sunday at the Regal Battery Park Stadium 11.
“The awards go to two powerful and charming stories of young men facing their deepest fears and overcoming their own challenges,” festival director Genna Terranova said in a statement. “These fiction and non-fiction stories of triumph and resilience clearly resonated with audiences this year.”
Each award comes with a cash prize of $25,000. Additionally, as part of the Tribeca Film Festival Artists Awards program, “King Jack” will receive artist Stephen Hannock’s “Rockets Over the Delta,” and “TransFatty Lives” will receive Piers Secunda’s “Taliban Relief Painting.”