The Nick Louvel Breakthrough Filmmaker Award
The Nick Louvel Breakthrough Filmmaker Award celebrates a feature filmmaker who has made a unique contribution to the world of cinema with their directorial vision, passion for filmmaking, and generosity of spirit. The recipient will be awarded an unrestricted $5,000 prize in honor of Nick Louvel, a multi-talented artist; beloved son and brother; and loyal friend, whose creativity and curiosity were quickened at an early age by the big screen. As an undergraduate at Harvard College, Nick directed the micro-budget feature film Domino One starring Natalie Portman, Steve Guttenberg, and Tatyana Ali. Later he edited Haiti: Where Did the Money Go?, winner of the Edward R. Murrow Award, and co-directed The Uncondemned, an award-winning documentary about the history of rape as a war crime. Nick’s love of film was unmatched, and his humor, heart, and passion remain an inspiration to all who knew him.
The 2020 Recipient of the Nick Louvel Breakthrough Filmmaker Award is: Darya Zhuk (Crystal Swan)
The Nick Louvel Breakthrough Filmmaker Award was created in partnership with The IFP Marcie Bloom Fellowship in Film. The recipient of the award will be invited by the Film Society of Lincoln Center to present their work and address the Marcie Bloom Fellows.
Variety wrote an article describing the fellowship and the award.
Darya Zhuk
ThiS Year's Winner
The Louvel family congratulates Darya Zhuk, the 2020 recipient of the Nick Louvel Breakthrough Filmmaker award, for her film
Darya Zhuk left Minsk, Belarus at the age of 16 to study in the US. Six years later with a cum laude B.A. degree from Harvard University, Darya started making films first as a video artist, then as a producer and today as a director. She graduated with honors from Columbia University MFA program in Directing. Her films have been selected to SXSW, Tarkovsky, Oaxaca, Atlanta, Palm Springs, Koroche, Santa Fe Independent film festivals. She strives to tell fun, unapologetically messy stories about always strong, diverse, and sometimes shocking women.
Crystal Swan
Set a few years after Belarus gained independence in 1990, this vibrant debut feature follows the path of young Evelina, who dreams of moving to Chicago where she could pursue her passion for house music. However, obtaining a US visa proves a difficult endeavour and, determined to flee the country, the young woman takes the risk of buying a letter of employment from the black market. Depicting a nation anticipating a brighter future, Crystal Swan is a story about a woman and her country, where feelings of self and belonging are yet to be defined.
The film premiered at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in 2018, and after making its way through the film festival circuit, became Belarus’ first Oscar submission in 22 years.
Read the Variety review.
Info
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