From Reuters:
A Swedish coming-of-age horror film and a U.S. documentary about female peace activists in war-torn Liberia won the top awards at New York's Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday.
"Let the Right One In," directed by Tomas Alfredson, took the award for Best Narrative Feature, while "Pray the Devil Back to Hell," directed by Gini Reticker and narrated by singer Angelique Kidjo, won Best Documentary Feature. Both films beat out 11 other finalists and each won $25,000.
Peter Scarlet, Tribeca's artistic director, said most of the prizes at the seventh annual festival -- started in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks to help rejuvenate lower Manhattan -- were "going to filmmakers and performers who are all at an early stage of their careers."
Amended figures from festival organizers show 121 feature films and 79 short films from 41 countries have been screened during the event, which finishes on Sunday.
"Let the Right One In" tells the tale of a 12-year-old Swedish boy who is the victim of bullying and dreams of revenge. He befriends a girl next door who has a need greater than friendship -- blood. The Tribeca jury said it won "for its mesmerizing exploration of loneliness and alienation through masterful reexamination of the vampire myth."
"Pray the Devil Back to Hell" documents the story of female peace activists in Liberia, who helped end the country's 1989-2003 civil war that left more than 200,000 people dead. Their campaign culminated in the election of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female head of state. "In a relentless pursuit of peace, the women of Liberia show us how community, motherly love and perseverance can change the fate of a society," the Tribeca jury said. " 'Pray the Devil Back to Hell' is a reminder that we have the power to say 'Enough!' to the atrocities of our world."
The Best New Narrative Filmmaker Award went to "My Marlon and Brando," directed by Huseyin Karabey and based on the true- love story of a Turkish actress heading to the Iraq border after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 to find her Kurdish boyfriend. Spanish director Carlos Carcas won Best New Documentary Filmmaker for "Old Man Bebo" for his portrait of Cuban musician Bebo Valdes, who won two Grammy Awards at age 81. The Best Actor in a Feature Film award went to Thomas Turgoose and Piotr Jagiello for their roles in the British film "Somers Town," while the Best Actress Award went to Eileen Walsh for her role in the Irish film "Eden."
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