I’m openly hopping on the Brandon Harris bandwagon and declaring Tribeca’s programming vastly underrated. Leaps and bounds ahead of SXSW, much of the curation this year proved artful and risky, with standouts including Fishtail, Güeros, Young Bodies Heal Quickly, Gabriel, Broken Hill Blues, Ne Me Quitte Pas, Glass Chin, 1971, Summer of Blood and so forth. Even its selections that didn’t completely click were admirable in their aims. It’s frustrating then that the winners feel so incredibly safe. Particularly, the gifting of the Best Documentary prize to a two-time Academy Award nominee, when I can think of no fewer than five first timers in competition who were more deserving of both the award and the spotlight. As the festival has dispensed with a multitude of mediocre banner titles, perhaps they’ll get more adventurous with their juries as well. The full list of winners is below.

The jurors for the 2014 World Narrative Competition were Lake Bell, Steve Conrad, Bart Freundlich, Catherine Hardwicke, and Ben Younger.

• The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature – Zero Motivation, written and directed by Talya Lavie (Israel). Winner receives $25,000, sponsored by AT&T, and the art award “Central Park, NY” by Tony Bennett.

• Special Jury Mention: The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq, directed by Guillaume Nicloux (France).

• Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film –Paul Schneider as Otto in Goodbye to All That, directed by Angus MacLachlan (USA). Winner receives $2,500 sponsored by Allen and Deborah Grubman.

• Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film – Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as Carla Bernaschi in Human Capital, directed by Paolo Virzi (Italy, France). Winner receives $2,500 sponsored by Allen and Deborah Grubman.

• Best Cinematography – Cinematography by Damian García, for Güeros, directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios (Mexico). Winner receives $5,000, and $50,000 in post-production services provided by Company 3.

• Best Screenplay – The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq, written and directed by Guillaume Nicloux (France). Winner receives $5,000 sponsored by DreamWorks Animation.

• Best Narrative Editing – Five Star, edited, directed and written by Keith Miller (USA). Winner receives $5,000 sponsored by Manhattan Edit Workshop.

WORLD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION CATEGORIES:

The jurors for the 2014 World Documentary Competition were David Edelstein, Nick Fraser, Andrea Meditch, Jenni Wolfson, and Marina Zenovich.

• Best Documentary Feature – Point and Shoot, directed by Marshall Curry (USA). Winner receives $25,000, sponsored by CNN Films, and the art award “Stanley Kubrick, Director’s Chair” by Matthew Modine.

• Special Jury Mention: Regarding Susan Sontag, directed by Nancy Kates (USA).

• Best Documentary Editing – Ne Me Quitte Pas, edited, written and directed by Sabine Lubbe Bakker and Niels van Koevorden (Netherlands, Belgium). Winner receives $5,000.

BEST NEW NARRATIVE DIRECTOR COMPETITION:

The jurors for the 2014 Best New Narrative Director Competition were Jeff Goldblum, Nadine Labaki, Dorothy Lyman, Adepero Oduye, and Mickey Sumner.

• Best New Narrative Director – Josef Wladyka director of Manos Sucias (Columbia, USA). Winner receives $25,000 sponsored by Warner Bros., $50,000 in post-production services provided by Company 3, and the art award “The Ballad of the Great Eastern” by Stephen Hannock.

BEST NEW DOCUMENTARY DIRECTOR COMPETITION: 

The jurors for the 2014 Best New Documentary Director were Rebecca Cammisa, Heather Graham, Nate Parker, Doug Pray, and Michael Stuhlbarg.

• Best New Documentary Director – Alan Hicks for Keep On Keepin’ On (USA). Winner receives $25,000, and the art award “Still Life with View of Hoboken and Manhattan” by Catherine Murphy.

SHORT FILM COMPETITION CATEGORIES:

The 2014 Best Narrative Short Competition jurors were Alfonso Arau, Whoopi Goldberg, Christine Lahti, Sheila Nevins, and Paul Wesley.

• Best Narrative Short – The Phone Call, directed by Mat Kirkby (UK). Winner receives $5,000 sponsored by Paul Hastings, LLP, and the art award “Water XIX” by Clifford Ross.

The 2014 Best Documentary and Student Short Competition jurors were Lindsay Burdge, Toni Collette, Regina Dugan, Simon Kilmurry, and Anton Yelchin.

• Best Documentary Short – One Year Lease, directed by Brian Bolster (USA). Winner receives $5,000 sponsored by FLATT Magazine, and the art award “Untitled” by James Nares.

–          Special Jury Mention: The Next Part, directed by Erin Sanger (USA).

• Student Visionary Award – Nesma’s Bird, directed by Najwan Ali and Medoo Ali (Iraq). Winner receives $5,000 sponsored by AKA.

–          Special Jury Mention: Cycloid, directed by Tomoki Kurogi (Japan).

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE AWARD FOR TRANSMEDIA

The 2014 BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Award for Transmedia jurors were Paola Antonelli, Kira Pollack, and Caspar Sonnen. 

• Bombay Sapphire Award for Transmedia: Clouds, created by Jonathan Minard and James George (USA). Winner receives $10,000, presented by BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Gin.

THE NORA EPHRON PRIZE

The 2014 Nora Ephron Prize jurors were Delia Ephron, Carol Kane, Natasha Lyonne, Meera Menon, and Tanya Wexler.

• The Nora Ephron Prize: Zero Motivation, written and directed by Talya Lavie (Israel). Winner receives $25,000, sponsored by Coach, Inc.

• Special Jury Mention: I Won’t Come Back, directed by Ilmar Raag (Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Kazhakstan, Russia).

TRIBECA ONLINE FESTIVAL CATEGORIES:

The 2014 Tribeca Online Festival winners were voted on by visitors to tribecafilm.com.

• Tribeca Online Festival Best Feature Film: Vara: A Blessing, directed by Khyentse Norbu (Bhutan). Winner receives $10,000.

• Tribeca Online Festival Best Short Film: Love in the Time of March Madness, directed by Melissa Johnson and Robertino Zambramo (USA). Winner receives $5,000, sponsored by Dianne B. Bernhard/Angela Bernhard Thomas/Art Spirit Films.