‘Sal,’ ‘Headfirst’ Among Top Winners At First Annual First Time Fest in New York

This weekend marked the inaugural First Time Fest in New York, which ran from March 1-4, aiming to provide a venue for debut filmmakers to premiere their works and vie for a top prize of distribution from Cinema Libra Studio.

Twelve films screened at the festival in competition, each acting as the New York premiere for the films. The Grand Prize Award, guaranteeing theatrical distribution, was awarded to Diego Rougier’s modern-day western “Sal.” Meanwhile, Amelie Van Elmbt picked up the FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Directing for her work on “Headfirst,” which also picked up an acting prize for its star Alice de Lencquesaing, while The FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Writing was awarded to Max Weissberg for his film “Summertime.”



In addition to the films screened in competition, the festival also features a varied lineup of landmark first films, including those by Todd Solondz, Sofia Coppola, and Darren Aronofsky among others, with most directors participating in Q&A’s after screenings. Aronofsky was also presented with the John Huston Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema by Martin Scorsese, making him the first recipient of the soon-to-be annual award.


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Check out the full list of winners below:

Grand Prize Winner Of Theatrical Distribution
SAL
Written And Directed By Diego Rougier (Chile/Argentina)
An inventive modern-day western with majestic sweep, great acting,
and a lot of surprises.
 
FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Directing
AMÉLIE VAN ELMBT
(Headfirst / La Tete La Premiere)
For balancing a fairly tale quality with genuine believability, as its characters enter a forest, and confront a different world
 
FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Writing
MAX WEISSBERG
(Summertime)
For a script showing clarity of vision, great storytelling talent, and sophistication, drawing inspiration from the work of Arthur Schnitzler
 
FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting
NEAL BLEDSOE
(Junction)
For the ferocity of the performance, and playing an unsympathetic character who becomes more and more out of control in a believable way
 
& ALICE DE LENCQUESAING
(Headfirst / La Tete La Premiere)
A star is born. A natural, seemingly effortless performance that makes everything she does believable
 
FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
DAVID BRAVO
(Sal)
For beautiful cinematography with rich details, surprising touches,
and a sense of humor
 
FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Editing
JONAH MARIN, JOHN YOUNG
(Zipper)
Fast-paced editing that captures, in a balanced way, a story about humanity in an age of greed. The editing works like The Zipper itself, connecting the ride with the story of Coney Island
 
FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scoring
MARTIN BOSSA, TOMÁS CARNELLI
(I Love You All / Los Quiero A Todos)
A score marked by its precision, use of silence, trust in the place of language,
 and by its exuberance
 
FIRST JOHN HUSTON AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMA To DARREN ARONOFSKY Presented By MARTIN SCORSESE
 
Closing Night Awards Hosted By Legendary Actress
ELLEN BURSTYN
 
Awards Presented By
ANTHONY RAPP