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Comedian Isabel Hagen Revisits Her Roots Playing the Viola in ‘On a String' First Look
Comedian Isabel Hagen is blurring fact and fiction with her music-centric directorial debut 'On a String.' The indie, which debuts at Tribeca, fits perfectly within the 2025 program for the acclaimed festival, which has additional highlights such as 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes,' Miley Cyrus' 'Something Beautiful,' and music therapist drama 'Charliebird.' Hagen writes, directs, and stars in 'On a String' which centers on a Juilliard-trained violist looking for her big break. In real life, Hagen somehow also finds time between appearing on 'The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon' and performing at the Just for Laughs festival to tour with buzzy bands, most recently Vampire Weekend. More from IndieWire 'Lilo & Stitch': How Director Dean Fleischer Camp Followed the Chris Sanders Animation Manual in Adapting His Misfit Alien 'Titan: The OceanGate Disaster' Review: A Surface-Level Netflix Documentary About the Submersible Implosion Heard Around the World The official synopsis for 'On a String' reads: 'Isabel (Hagen) is a young, Juilliard-trained violist still living at home with her parents in the heart of New York City. She's trying to make a living playing gigs with her friends but when her toxic ex- boyfriend reappears, who also happens to be the Philharmonic's 'newest, hottest cellist,' he informs her of a viola opening in the prestigious orchestra. Nothing can go wrong, right?' Dylan Baker, Ling Ling Huang, Frederick Weller, Jamie Lee, and Eric Bogosian co-star. 'As a Juilliard graduate, I freelanced as a violist in New York City for over a decade,' Hagen told IndieWire. 'I played weddings, private parties, backup strings for singer-songwriters, among other engagements. I've been a tiny part of other peoples' big life moments, finding paradoxical intimacy in being an observer. It's this role of the observer that initially inspired me to write 'On a String,' which is not about someone driven by a desire for success, but rather by a need for true connection to the world around her, with no idea how to find it.' In an additional director's statement, Hagen cited her love for the viola 'faded' during her time at Juilliard. 'Still, music was all I knew, and I freelanced as a violist in New York City for over a decade (I did eventually become a stand-up comedian, but that's another movie),' she said. 'While this film tells a tale of a classical musician navigating a specific world, with which many may be unfamiliar, I was interested in using that specificity to capture an experience I find to be universal — that of confronting the reality of following your dreams and accepting life's inevitable limitations. Authenticity was a priority for me in telling this story. The film features live-captured musical performances, and the musician characters are almost entirely played by trained musicians, including my real-life brother, pianist Oliver Hagen, portraying my character's brother in the film.' 'On a String' is produced by Hagen, Olivia Vessel, Torrance Shepherd, Alex Vara, and Annie McGrath. 'On a String' premieres at the Tribeca Festival as a sales title with Andrew Herwitz at the Film Sales Company handling rights. Check out the first look clip below. Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie Nicolas Winding Refn's Favorite Films: 37 Movies the Director Wants You to See
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‘Charliebird' Wins Top Tribeca Festival Jury Prize: Full List of Winners
The 2025 Tribeca Festival has announced its jury winners. Libby Ewing's 'Charliebird' leads the awards, taking the top honor in the U.S. Narrative section. 'Happy Birthday' and 'Natchez' were both recognized in the respective International Narrative and Documentary competitions, with Andrea Riseborough and Brenda Blethyn sharing the Performance Award for 'Dragonfly.' 'Every year at Tribeca we set out to spotlight the most exciting new voices from around the world,' Tribeca Festival director and SVP of programming Cara Cusumano said. 'We are thrilled our jury honored this mission with winners that brilliantly represent the vibrancy and diversity of global independent storytelling today.' More from IndieWire 'Tow' Review: Rose Byrne Fights Bureaucracy in a Social Justice Drama That Narrowly Steers Clear of Poverty Porn 'Stories Don't Have to Be About Disability' to Feature Actors with a Disability: A Call for Change The Tribeca 2025 awards championed first-time directors such as Ewing ('Charliebird'), Cristian Carretero and Lorraine Jones Molina ('Esta Isla') with the Best New Narrative Director Award, Isabel Hagen ('On a String') with the Best Screenplay in a U.S. Narrative Feature award, Walter Thompson-Hernandez ('Kites') with the Viewpoints Award, Sarah Goher ('Happy Birthday') with Best International Narrative Feature, Best Screenplay in an International Narrative Feature, and the prestigious Nora Ephron Award, and Rowan Haber ('We Are Pat') and Augusto Zegarra ('Runa Simi') with the Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director honors. Winners of the Audience Award, which are determined by audience votes throughout the festival, will be announced at a later date. The festival concludes on Sunday, June 15. The full 2025 Tribeca winners and Special Jury mentions are below. U.S. NARRATIVE COMPETITIONFounders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature: 'Charliebird,' director Libby Ewing (United States) – World Premiere. Jury Statement: 'A deeply affecting portrait featuring grounded and complex performances, this film is an assured and well-crafted debut.' This award is presented by Jury Mention for Best U.S. Narrative Feature: 'Esta Isla (This Island),' directors Cristian Carretero and Lorraine Jones Molina (Puerto Rico) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'A compelling depiction of a place, this film is a lush and stunningly realized reckoning with class, love and history.'Best Performance in a U.S. Narrative Feature: Gabriela Ochoa Perez for 'Charliebird' (United States) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'This actor delivers a fresh performance that is at once ferocious and vulnerable. She grounds a young woman's painful journey in humanity and truth.'Best Screenplay in a U.S. Narrative Feature: Isabel Hagen for 'On a String' (United States) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'A nimble, witty and accomplished story that chronicles the ups and downs of a young woman who has to face the music.'Best Cinematography in a U.S. Narrative Feature: Cedric Cheung-Lau for 'Esta Isla (This Island)' (Puerto Rico) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'Beautifully lensed, this film is full of unforgettable and evocative imagery. Lovingly rendered, it is equally adept at capturing the intimate details and grandest vistas.'INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE COMPETITIONBest International Narrative Feature: 'Happy Birthday,' director Sarah Goher (Egypt) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'For its authentic and complex portrayal of class, motherhood, and loss of innocence, along with outstanding performances – especially by its young star – and its brilliant nuanced writing.'Special Jury Mention for International Narrative Feature: 'Cuerpo Celeste,' director Nayra Ilic García (Chile, Italy) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'For its fantastic central performance, arresting visuals, and subtle storytelling that touches on both a changing political landscape and the aftermath of grief.' Best Performance in an International Narrative Feature: Andrea Riseborough and Brenda Blethyn for'Dragonfly' (United Kingdom) – World Premiere. 'For an audience, there is nothing as exciting as watching actors bravely and fully immerse themselves in characters who leave us filled with both empathy and dread – and so for their daring and electrifying turns, we are thrilled to present Best Performance in and International Film to Andrea Riseborough and Brenda Blethyn.'Best Screenplay in an International Narrative Feature: Mohamed Diab and Sarah Goher for 'Happy Birthday' (Egypt) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'For its profound and yet economical storytelling, compelling characters, and wonderfully crafted dialogue.'Best Cinematography in an International Narrative Feature: Lev Predan Kowarski for 'Little Trouble Girls' (Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Serbia) – North American Premiere. Jury statement: 'For its evocative tone and rich sensual texture, which conjured the fragility of a singular summer.'DOCUMENTARY COMPETITIONBest Documentary Feature: 'Natchez,' director Suzannah Herbert (United States) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'Who tells America's story? In a country where the rewriting and abject erasure of African American history threatens a truthful understanding of who we are, the jury applauds this film's focus on a southern town, once one of America's largest slave markets, whose economic mainstay is now historic tours. The film's incisive, razor-sharp craft, its deft navigation of myriad participants without ever losing clarity, its timeliness, its humor, its confrontation of naked racism, yet its refusal to flatten its Mississippian storytellers—however flawed—into easy villains, for being artful, honest, and deeply compassionate, the jury—unanimously and unequivocally—awards a film that brings us hope not for an America that can agree, but one that might understand each other.'Special Jury Mention for Documentary Feature: 'An Eye for an Eyedirectors Tanaz Eshaghian and Farzad Jafari (Denmark, Iran, United States) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'At a time when women's rights are eroding globally, the jury would be remiss if we did not recognize the courageous, unflinching, gut wrenching, verité virtuosity of a film set in a society that severely limits women's rights, even those of victims of extreme domestic violence. The story unfolds in real time with life and death hanging in the balance, leaving the audience breathlessly invested in the outcome.'Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature: Chance Falkner and Johnny Friday for 'The Last Dive' (United States) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'After a passionate debate, we award a film which immersed us in a natural world where the meeting between man and animal literally changes the course of preservation history, and the redemption of a broken soul. For its sweeping aerial and underwater footage, shocking archival witness, and intimate portrait of a person confronting morality.'Special Jury Mention for Cinematography in a Documentary Feature: Noah Collier for 'Natchez' (United States) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'For its idiosyncratic visual storytelling, masterfully timed and restrained camerawork, and photography as close, wide and open as the film's curious heart.'Best Editing in a Documentary Feature: Soren B. Ebbe and Hayedeh Safiyari for 'An Eye for an Eye' (Denmark, Iran, United States) – World Premiere. 'For its narrative precision, for locking us inside a moral crucible without relief, and for weaving a multigenerational, deeply personal story that gives equal weight to all participants with searing emotional impact, and for the clarity and courage of its storytelling. Not one frame feels gratuitous as the film barrels relentlessly towards its conclusion.'Special Jury Mention for Editing in a Documentary Feature: Pablo Proenza for 'Natchez' (United States) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'The editing seamlessly balances all the elements of an extremely complicated story, and delivers a powerful impact that resonates long after the film concludes.'VIEWPOINTS AWARD'A Bright Future,' director Lucia Garibaldi (Uruguay, Argentina, Germany) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'This year's Viewpoints award goes to a film driven by an original, inventive voice. The filmmaker creates a seamless world that is captivating, thought-provoking, fresh and increasingly relevant. Weaving themes of the fetishization of youth, the timeless pursuit of dreams, and what makes us human, and anchored by a pitch perfect performance from their lead actress, we are pleased to award this year's Viewpoint prize to A Bright Future. We believe Lucia Garibaldi has a very bright future.'Special Jury Mention for Viewpoints: 'Kites,' director Walter Thompson-Hernandez (Brazil) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'Special Jury Prize goes to a film with astounding cinematography that balances verite with magical realism and upends conventional story structure. The love the filmmaker has for his characters and their community writ large was infectious. We all think we have time but the angels let us know we have to hurry and become the people who want to be.'BEST NEW NARRATIVE DIRECTOR AWARDLorraine Jones Molina and Cristian Carretero for 'Esta Isla (This Island)' – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'The award for Best New Narrative Director goes to a film that straddles crime fiction and ethnography; it balances poetic imagery, lush landscapes, and cinematic tension; it takes audiences deep into the crisis of survival of a young man on an island that's both a paradise and a prison.' This award is presented by MAYSLES AWARD FOR BEST NEW DOCUMENTARY DIRECTORAugusto Zegarra for 'Runa Simi' (Peru) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'This award goes to a film that takes us on a seemingly lighthearted journey while tackling an essential question: why storytelling matters. From the casting, to the frame, to the editorial pacing, this director creates the total cinematic package, revealing one man's fight to preserve his people's culture.'Special Jury Mention for New Documentary Director: Rowan Haber for 'We Are Pat' (United States) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'This award goes to a film that tackles a morally urgent issue with a fresh and unique directorial vision that made us think, cry, and most unexpectedly laugh. For powerfully centering the voices of the community it represents, inventive visual approach, and for helping us see a complex pop cultural figure in a new way.'NORA EPHRON AWARDThe Nora Ephron Award will honor an exceptional female filmmaker who represents the spirit and vision of the legendary filmmaker and Goher for 'Happy Birthday' (Egypt) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'This film was not only compelling as an audience experience, but like all great works of art, it did not confine itself to the story, and was resonant on a larger canvas. It explored the intersection of innocence and class from the eyes of a child longing for a birthday party and reluctantly understanding her place in society, being on the outside, and longing to be invited to the inside.'SHORTS COMPETITIONBest Narrative Short: 'Beyond Silence,' director Marnie Blok (Netherlands) – International Premiere. Jury statement: 'Covering an enormous subject with beautiful minimalism, brilliant performances combine with a skillful script to give new meaning to 'finding your voice.' Raw and devastating. Impressive and emotional.'Special Jury Mention for Narrative Short: 'Chasing the Party,' director Jessie Komitor (United States) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'With a compelling combination of character and world, this nostalgic look at young hope on a wild night is filled with surprises of fantasy and nightmare. We'll be thinking of this fresh, provocative film for a long time and cannot wait to see what this director does next.'Best Documentary Short: 'I hope this email finds you well,' director Asia Zughaiar (Palestine) – World Premiere. Jury Statement: 'Our choice for the Best Short Documentary Award poses the question: what even is a documentary? A documentary can be anything that allows the viewer to connect with what the filmmaker has experienced. We believe this film helps us not only see, but feel.'Special Jury Mention for Documentary Short: 'Natasha,' directors Mark Franchetti and Andrew Meier (Italy, Russia) – World Premiere. Jury Statement: 'In times like these, it's important to honor those who came before us, those who fought to make the world a more just and livable place. Our Special Jury choice reflects on one such hidden figure, whose legacy left an outsized impact on the world we live in today.'Best Animated Short: 'Playing God,' director Matteo Burani (Italy, France) – New York Premiere. Jury statement: 'Visceral and experimental, using the form to its greatest abilities — this beautiful exploration of existential turmoil is at the heart of cinema — why are we here, how did we get here, what would it be like to have the thumb of god in your hand, and what is the price when one yearns to be free?'Special Jury Mention for Animated Short: 'Petra and the Sun,' directors Malu Furche and Stefania Malacchini(Chile) – North American Premiere. Jury statement: 'The attention to detail, the specificity of longing and loneliness, and the immersive quality of this stop-motion character study created a moving experience. The texture and visible traces of the human hand brought a delicate realism in this story about an unusual and unforgettable chance encounter.'Best Music Video: 'Rock The Bells' – LL COOL J, director Gregory Brunkalla (United Stated). Jury statement: 'To honor our first-ever Music Video Jury Competition winner, we found it only fitting to celebrate the great city of New York—with a music video that captures the style, swag, and sound of Tribeca's hometown.'Student Visionary Award: Manya Glassman for 'How I Learned to Die' (United States) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'Our choice for the Student Visionary Award manages to make a capital-M Movie out of a short student film. We, the jury, believe this film is filled with ambition, hope, and personality—paired with complex, emotional subject matter that touches on something we will all experience: Jury Mention for Student Visionary: Jiayi Li for 'āyí' (United States) – World Premiere. Jury statement: 'Sometimes, the people who are the fabric of our lives are the ones most often forgotten. With this film, we catch a glimpse of what it feels like to be overlooked—but not erased. We would like to give a Special Jury Mention.' Best of IndieWire 2023 Emmy Predictions: Who Will Win at the Primetime Emmy Awards? 2023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special 2023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
