Jacqui Lofaro, founder and executive director of Hamptons Doc Fest, which celebrated its 17th year, December 5 to 11, with 32 documentary film screenings at the Sag Harbor Cinema and Bay Street Theater, has announced that the winner of the 2024 Brown Harris Stevens Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature is the uplifting film “Música!,” which was the first film to play on opening day, December 5.
“There’s always a bit of intrigue in guessing what film will win the Audience Award,” said Jacqui Lofaro, “but when the tallies are in, we all say, ‘of course that was the one.’ This year’s film program of 32 films was star-studded, so I congratulate directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman on their outstanding documentary and well-deserved award. And we thank Brown Harris Stevens for their continuing support of our mission and documentary film festival.”
The film was also selected as the recipient of the Hamptons Doc Fest’s 2024 Art & Inspiration Award, sponsored by the Tee & Charles Addams Foundation. Full of music, it follows several passionate young Cuban musicians, including a pianist, a double bass player, and a trumpeter, as they work to find success and fulfillment, whether in Cuba or abroad.
The directors, who attended the festival and the Q&A at the Sag Harbor Cinema, had earlier won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for the film “Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt.” Bob Epstein had also won an Oscar for “The Times of Harvey Milk.” They had also won a Grammy for Best Music Film for “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice.”
“It’s been a joy to see how “Música!” resonates with audiences,” said Epstein and Friedman. “Receiving the Hamptons Documentary Festival Audience Award is a wonderful affirmation of that connection.”
Robert Nelson, Executive Managing Director of Brown Harris Stevens of the Hamptons, added, “We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the directors of ‘Música!’ and everyone at Hamptons Doc Fest for another sensational season of documentary films. It’s an honor to continue our tradition of supporting the arts in our local Hamptons communities through the Brown Harris Stevens Audience Award.”
For those interested in seeing the Q&A where Andrew Botsford interviews the directors, all of the Q&As from Hamptons Doc Fest’s 17th festival can be viewed on the website at hamptonsdocfest.com