Any Day Now, directed by Travis Fine, and BURN, helmed by Tom Putnam and Breena Sanchez, won the Narrative and Documentary Audience Awards, respectively, tonight at the 11th annual Tribeca Film Festival. Each Heineken Audience Award comes with a cash prize of $25,000. This marks the first time two awards–one for narrative and one for documentary–were given to the audience choices for the best films at Tribeca.
“It’s gratifying to see audiences respond so overwhelmingly to these world premiere films,” said Nancy Schafer, executive director of the Tribeca Film Festival. “Both films strike uplifting and hopeful notes, and we look forward to them continuing to garner strong audience reaction long after the Festival is over.”
Throughout the Festival, which kicked off on April 18, audiences have been able to vote for the Heineken Audience Awards by completing nomination ballots upon exiting screenings. Films in the World Narrative Competition, World Documentary Competition, Viewpoints, Spotlight and Cinemania sections were eligible.
Any Day Now begins when aspiring singer Rudy (Alan Cumming) pounds on the door to discover his neighbor’s son Marco, a teenager with Down syndrome, left alone by his drug addicted mother with only the blaring stereo to keep him company. Family Services takes Marco, but days later Rudy sees him on the street and brings him home, where Rudy and his closeted district attorney partner Paul (Garret Dillahunt) become the stable family environment Marco has never had. But when authorities discover Rudy and Paul are gay, the men must battle a biased legal system to adopt the child they have come to love as their own. Set in 1970s Los Angeles and inspired by a true story, Any Day Now is a poignant and occasionally incendiary drama from Tribeca Festival alum Travis Fine (The Space Between) that addresses gay adoption rights issues that are as relevant today as they were nearly 40 years ago. Augmenting the touching performances from Cumming and Dillahunt is Isaac Leyva, who offers a subtle yet impactful performance as a boy who inspires those around him to fight for what is right when no one else will. Cumming, Dillahunt and Leyva received a standing ovation for their performances at the premiere.
BURN, executive produced by Denis Leary, introduces audiences to the men and women charged with saving Detroit, the once-roaring city that many have left for dead. With vast stretches of forsaken buildings left as kindling, the highest arson rate in the country, and a budget crisis of epic proportions, the city turns to new fire commissioner Donald Austin to shake up the system with hard-line decisions and drastic, often controversial measures. Cautiously regarded by the department as a bombastic outsider, the Detroit native sets out to demonstrate his commitment to helping his hometown rise from the ashes. Many of the film’s screenings at Tribeca were attended by members of the Detroit Fire Department and received standing ovations.
“We were told time and time again that there is no audience for a film about firefighters,” said Sanchez.
Added Putnam, “We are so grateful for this honor and we hope it will help raise the profile of the film and let people know what’s going on in Detroit and across this country.”
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More