The winners of the 3rd Annual Cinema Tropical Awards were announced last week in New York City. The Brazilian film, Neighbouring Sounds (O som ao redor) took the top prize for Best Feature Film. A thrilling debut from a breakout talent, Neighboring Sounds delves into the lives of a group of prosperous middle-class families residing on a quiet street in Recife, close to a low-income neighborhood. The private security firm hired to police the street becomes the catalyst for an exploration of the neighbors’ discontents and anxieties—their feelings exacerbated by the palpable unease of a society that remains unreconciled to its troubled past and present inequities. 

The Lifeguard (El Salvavidas) from Chile, was awarded the prize for Best Documentary. In the film, Mauricio, a lifeguard on a Chilean beach, considers himself to be a model of efficiency and professionalism. His colleagues, however, think otherwise, and speculate on why he never goes into the water. Maite Alberdi’s visually gorgeous feature documentary debut has the intensity of a short story; beginning as a quirky character study of lifeguards and beachgoers, it becomes something altogether darker and more shocking when events take a dramatic turn.| EIFF.

The complete list of winners

Best Feature Film:
O SOM AO REDOR / NEIGHBORING SOUNDS
(Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazil)

Best Documentary Film:
EL SALVAVIDAS / THE LIFEGUARD
(Maite Alberdi, Chile)

Best Director, Feature Film:
Matías Meyer, LOS ÚLTIMOS CRISTEROS / THE LAST CHRISTEROS
(Mexico)

Best Director, Documentary Film:
Jose Álvarez, CANÍCULA
(Mexico)

Best First Film:
EL ESTUDIANTE / THE STUDENT
(Santiago Mitre, Argentina)