"Cave of the Yellow Dog" Wins Big at Hamptons Fest

Byambasuren Daava's follow-up to the "The Story of the Weeping Camel" was the big winner of jury awards at the 2005 Hamptons International Film Festival. "Cave of the Yellow Dog" nabbed the Golden Starfish Award for best feature, as well as the best cinematography and best score prizes. It is the story of a real Mongolian family integrated into the story of a young girl who finds a puppy in a cave. The Golden Starfish award for best documentary went to David Zieger's "Sir! No Sir!" about an anti-war movement of military men and women during the Vietnam War.

The narrative audience award was shared by Marc Rothemund's "Sophie Scholl: The Last Days" and Ali Selim's "Sweet Land", while the documentary audience award went to Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine's "Ballet Russes" and the prize in the shorts category went to Eric Smith's "Irene Williams: Queen of Lincoln Road." The audience prize for best Long Island film went to Kevin Jordan's "Brooklyn Lobster," while the audience award for chidren's feature went to Polly Draper's "The Naked Brothers Band". A full story including a broader list of winners will be published this week. [Eugene Hernandez]