‘Freda’ and ‘You Can Always Come Home’ Take Top Prizes at 39th Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival
13.03.2022 - 18:41
/ variety.com
Malina Saval Associate Editor, FeaturesThe feature film “Freda” and short film “You Can Always Come Home,” both family dramas, earned top prizes at the 39th edition of Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival. Presented in a hybrid format this year, with both in-theater and virtual presentations, the 2022 Festival ran from March 4-13.Making its U.S.
premiere at this year’s Festival, “Freda,” directed by Géssica Généus, earned the top award for her first feature set in Haiti, the $25,000 Knight MARIMBAS Award. The winning film was selected by jury members Damon D’Oliveria, April Dobbins and Rubén Peralta Rigaud.
Of the film, the jury noted, “this film resonated with all of us for its strong, female-centered narrative, and its exceptional performances from emerging actors. We couldn’t stop thinking about this world and these characters, and we appreciated being immersed in a place that we don’t often see onscreen – portrayed in such a realistic, but tender way.” The jury also gave special recognition to actor Haztin Navarrete from “The Box” and actress Mari Oliveira from “Medusa,” saying, “for two magnetic performances that we couldn’t take our eyes off.”The $55,000 Knight Made in MIA Film Award, supported by the Knight Foundation, is given to three films that have a substantial portion of their content in South Florida.
They were evaluated by jury members Mollye Asher, Nicholas Griffin, Johann Zietsman, and Keisha Rae Witherspoon, who won the Knight Made in MIA Award for her 2020 short drama, “T.”“You Can Always Come Home,” directed by Juan Luis Matos, won the $30,000 first prize. The jury said, “this is a film that radiates with the joyous spirit of Miami in its embrace of family, community and place while also
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