Three Filmmakers Win at 2021 Hamptons International Film Festival
Three filmmakers have been honored at the 29th annual Hamptons International Film Festival, which took place from October 7-13, 2021. They are: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović ’17, Olive Nwosu ’21, and student Kathy E. Mitrani.
Kusijanović won Best Narrative Feature for her film, Murina. Murina is a tense family drama and coming-of-age story set on an isolated island off the coast of Croatia. The film was co-produced by Martin Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions and premiered at Cannes Film Festival, 2021, where Kusijanović won the coveted Camera d’Or for debut film. The Narrative Feature Prize at the Hamptons International Film Festival honors emerging directors who represent the next generation of innovative filmmakers. Recipients receive a $3,000 cash prize as well as a film production package of in-kind goods and services with a total value of more than $82,500.
Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović is a Dubrovnik-born writer, director, and producer based in New York. Her short, Into the Blue, was nominated for a Student Academy Award, and won prizes at the Berlin International Film Festival, among others. She holds an MA from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb and an MFA in Screenwriting and Directing from Columbia University. Kusijanović is an alumna of the Berlinale Talent Lab, Sarajevo Talent Lab, Le Femis Producing Atelier, and the Marcie Bloom Fellowship.
Director Olive Nwosu took home Best Narrative Short for Egúngún (Masquerade). In Egúngún (Masquerade), a woman returns to her hometown of Lagos only to discover a path leading into her past and toward a new understanding of the people and experiences that have shaped her. Judged by world-class filmmakers and industry professionals, the Narrative Short Competition rewards the fresh perspective of an up-and-coming filmmaker. Nwosu will receive a cash prize of $500 and qualify for Academy Award consideration.
Olive Nwosu was born in Lagos, Nigeria. In 2020, she was awarded a BAFTA scholarship and the Alex Sichel Fellowship at Columbia University, and selected as one of four African Promises directors selected for the Institut Français’ Africa-2020 programme. Before enrolling at Columbia, Nwosu received a BA in Economics and an MSc in Psychology, and worked in banking and advertising. Her work as a filmmaker is informed by the fragmentary experience of life across multiple continents.
Student Kathy E. Mitrani received one of five University Film Awards for her short film, Buzzkill. Buzzkill follows an adolescent girl as she desperately tries to fit in with a group of South Florida teenagers. The University Film Awards are given to five exceptionally talented student filmmakers from a pool of hundreds. Honorees receive a cash prize of $500.
Kathy E. Mitrani is a Colombian filmmaker based between New York and Florida and a current MFA candidate in Screenwriting and Directing at the School of the Arts. Buzzkill premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival in 2020 and continues to screen internationally.
The Hamptons International Film Festival was founded in 1992 to celebrate the unique and varied spectrum of international films and filmmakers. The festival was recently referred to by Variety as “one of America’s most glamorous displays of the best in cutting-edge cinema.” This year the festival rewarded emerging filmmakers with $34,000 in cash, as well as another $100,000 in in-kind goods and services, through its various awards.