The voting for The Heineken Audience Award took place all throughout the festival, when the viewers were filling out their ballots.  Final results have been announced at the closing party.  The director received a $2,000 prize funded by Heineken.

The Rizzo Family. From top left: Dominik Garcia Lorido, Julianna Margulies, Steven Strait, Andy Garcia, Ezra Miller.

“City Island” had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. It was written and directed by Raymond De Felitta. It tells the story of the Rizzo family, who live on the little known island in Bronx. This place, City Island, seems at first a quiet and peaceful oasis. But the Rizzo family is not exactly the same as the place they inhabit.

The Rizzos, like many other families, would do everything to avoid telling each other the truth. The father, Vince (Andy Garcia) is the worst example of the above.  He works as a prison guard and secretly takes acting lessons, dreaming about a new career.  His daughter, a stripper, undresses for money, and his son, Vinnie Jr. has a hidden fetish for the lady from the neighborhood who weighs over 300 pounds. Vince’s wife, Joyce (Julianna Margulies) is a rock for the entire family who unfortunately loses her balance when a mysterious man, whose past only Vince knows, arrives at the Rizzo home.

The viewers can enjoy a lot of great comedy moments thanks to Garcia and Margulies.  Also, Emily Mortimer and Alan Arkin (who play the roles of the student and acting teacher, respectively) are truly remarkable.

Grzegorz Hajdarowicz, Raymond De Felitta & Jan AP Kaczmarek.