Cinematical

The 2006 Tribeca Film Festival was brought to a close last night with the awarding of prizes, and several major awards went to war films. The winner of the International Documentary Competition was The War Tapes, a film built from footage shot by soldiers stationed in Iraq, and Blessed By Fire, an Argentine film about the lingering effects of the Falkland Islands War, took top prize on the International Narrative Competition. In the New York-specific categories, the best doc award went to When I Came Home, which explores the post-war experience of Iraq veteran Herold Noel, while The Treatment was named best feature. Also recognized were Egyptian epic The Yacoubian Building (best new feature director), The Play (best new documentary director) and The Cats of Mirikitani (audience award and special mention in the New York docs category).

Apart from The Cats of Mirikitani, I didn't see any of the winners -- and most of the films that impressed me most were screened outside of competition. That said, my favorite of the weak narrative pool was easily the Croatian comedy-drama Two Players from the Bench, and my choice from the competition docs (a pool in which I saw a fair number of films) was probably Blue Blood, a charming, intimate piece about the Oxford Boxing Club. Those of you who were able to attend the festival, feel free to chime in here and let us know which competition films were your favorites -- what do you think of the results?