Editor

The Tribeca Film Festival, presented by American Express, along with the Tribeca Film Institute today announced the winners of the fifth annual Tribeca All Access Creative Promise Awards. Tribeca All Access (TAA), a program designed to help foster relationships between film industry executives and filmmakers from traditionally underrepresented communities, is made possible by Bloomberg.

Earlier this evening at the Tribeca All Access Awards at Budakkan in New York City, the following winners were announced:

• Narrative section prize – Pete Chatmon for his current screenplay, “$Free.99,” co-written by Candice Sanchez McClaren, which tells the story of a complicated bank heist where twelve hostages quickly realize that their captor is more than he appears.
• Emerging Narrative section prize – Leigh Dana Jackson for his screenplay, “The Infinite Life of Stuart Hornsley,” with producer Moira Griffin, in which the lead character Stuart Hornsley is on a mission to travel back in time to win the girl that got away.
• Documentary section prize – Gemma Cubero and Celeste Carrasco for their documentary work-in-progress, “She Wants to Be A Matador,” which portrays the challenges – both physical and societal – of being a female matador.
• Screenwriting section prize – Anslem Richardson for his screenplay, “Bardos,” in which two family men are forced to continuously alternate fates after a tragic car accident.

Honorable mentions were given to:

• Narrative – Rodney Evans for his screenplay, “Day Dream,” set in New Orleans at the home of Buddy Bolden, the forefather of modern jazz, and Billy Strayhorn, the openly gay composer of numerous Duke Ellington tunes.
• Emerging Narrative – Shawn Ku for his screenplay, “White and Rice,” with producer Christina Piovesan, which tells the story of a 14-year-old boy who, after the death of his adopted mom, moves in with his grandmother to start his life over.
• Documentary – Lisa Collins and Mark Schwartzburt for their work-in-progress, “Oscar’s Comeback,” in which a small, predominantly white town in South Dakota celebrates its most famous native son, Oscar Micheaux, with a unique, “mom-and-pop” style festival.
The winners were selected from 31 eligible projects on the strength of their vision and filmmaking promise. The TAA Creative Promise Award comes with a prize of $12,000 for narrative, documentary, and emerging narrative and $8,500 for screenwriting. All of the filmmakers participating in the program have scripts or documentary proposals for which they are seeking funding and/or representation.

"We continue to be impressed at the caliber of our Tribeca All Access filmmakers," said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Institute. "In just five years the TAA program has proved to be a vibrant marketplace at the Festival where strong narrative, documentary and screenwriting is presented year after year."

“The enthusiasm shown by our jurors, industry and filmmakers is an indicator that the program is filling a need in the industry,” said Beth Janson, Program Director, Tribeca Film Institute.

2008 Tribeca All Access participants were selected from an open call for submissions, which garnered over 550 entries from across the country. A jury of distinguished entertainment and arts personalities selected the four winners and three honorable mentions.

Jurors for this year’s Tribeca All Access included actor Jesse L. Martin, who has starred in NBC’s “Law & Order” and “Rent”; actress Joy Bryant, who has starred in “Antwone Fisher”; actor Adam Beach, who has starred in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”; actor Anthony Mackie, who has starred in “We Are Marshall”; executive producer Chris Lee, who has produced “Superman Returns” and is currently producing “Valkyrie”; author Jessica Hagedorn; actor Jamie Hector, who has starred in HBO’s “The Wire”; ABC News features correspondent Marysol Castro; producer Neda Armian; director Patricia Riggen (“Under the Same Moon”); and businesswoman/philanthropist Sheila C. Johnson.

Alka Raghuram was presented with the L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth “Vision” Award for her screenplay “The Conqueror,” in which an old feud between two villages brings tragedy to a young boy’s family and he must decide whether to avenge his loss or try to break the painful cycle of violence. Female writer/directors actively participating in the emerging narrative section of the 2008 TAA program were eligible for the award, and Alka received a $15,000 cash award from L’Oréal Paris to help further her creative vision through filmmaking.

Tribeca All Access provided this year’s 37 participating directors and screenwriters the opportunity to meet one-on-one with more than 140 potential investors, development executives, producers, and agents in prescheduled meetings. During the six-day event, Tribeca All Access arranged more than 650 meetings for program participants. This year marked the first time Tribeca All Access expanded its program to include international delegates, featuring four out-of-competition projects in the narrative category through associations with the UK Film Council, Australian Film Commission and Canadian Film Centre.

All participants in the 2008 program are now eligible to apply to “Tribeca Access On Track,” an expansion of the program designed to provide year-round support to alumni.