WAR Witch, a sensitive drama about a 12-year-old girl abducted by vicious armed rebels in sub-Saharan Africa, and a nonfiction film that examines the plight of women in modern India won the top awards at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The film picked up the jury prize last Thursday for best narrative feature and best actress for Rachel Mwanza who plays the girl forced to become a child soldier, while The World Before Her that parallels women in the Miss India beauty pageant and a fundamentalist Hindu girls camp won best documentary.
But in a continuing strange saga of life imitating art at Tribeca, a Cuban actor starring in a film about defecting to the US, who went missing in real life while en route to the festival, shared the top acting award.
Actor Javier Nunez Florian, who was last seen at Miami's airport during a stopover to the festival and disappeared along with his female co-star Anailin de la Rua de la Torre from the film Una Noche, did not show up to split his $2500 (about R19300) award.
He shared the top acting honour with his male co-star Dariel Arrechada, who turned up toward the end of the awards and was the only actor present at the film's premiere a week ago.
Representatives for the film said this week no one from the film has had any contact with the missing Cubans.
Una Noche, (One Night), which follows the journey of three Cuban teenagers trying to escape the poverty of their homeland to start a new life in Miami, also picked up the best cinematography award and best new narrative director for New York University film school graduate Lucy Mulloy.
"I'm sad for them because they are my friends," said Arrechada, referring to his missing fellow actors.
"I wish they were here, but ... you could be happy for them."
Mulloy, a London-born 32-year-old who shot the film in Havana and was inspired by a tale she heard on a trip to the island nation 10 years ago, said she wished the missing actors could have been there.
Thumbs up for War Witch
WAR Witch, a sensitive drama about a 12-year-old girl abducted by vicious armed rebels in sub-Saharan Africa, and a nonfiction film that examines the plight of women in modern India won the top awards at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The film picked up the jury prize last Thursday for best narrative feature and best actress for Rachel Mwanza who plays the girl forced to become a child soldier, while The World Before Her that parallels women in the Miss India beauty pageant and a fundamentalist Hindu girls camp won best documentary.
But in a continuing strange saga of life imitating art at Tribeca, a Cuban actor starring in a film about defecting to the US, who went missing in real life while en route to the festival, shared the top acting award.
Actor Javier Nunez Florian, who was last seen at Miami's airport during a stopover to the festival and disappeared along with his female co-star Anailin de la Rua de la Torre from the film Una Noche, did not show up to split his $2500 (about R19300) award.
He shared the top acting honour with his male co-star Dariel Arrechada, who turned up toward the end of the awards and was the only actor present at the film's premiere a week ago.
Representatives for the film said this week no one from the film has had any contact with the missing Cubans.
Una Noche, (One Night), which follows the journey of three Cuban teenagers trying to escape the poverty of their homeland to start a new life in Miami, also picked up the best cinematography award and best new narrative director for New York University film school graduate Lucy Mulloy.
"I'm sad for them because they are my friends," said Arrechada, referring to his missing fellow actors.
"I wish they were here, but ... you could be happy for them."
Mulloy, a London-born 32-year-old who shot the film in Havana and was inspired by a tale she heard on a trip to the island nation 10 years ago, said she wished the missing actors could have been there.
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