‘Hamnet’ and ‘Rental Family’ Tie for Middleburg Film Festival Audience Award

For the second consecutive year, two films have shared the top prize at the Middleburg Film Festival — and both come from women directors.

Chloé Zhao’s emotional drama “Hamnet” and Hikari’s moving crowd-pleaser “Rental Family” won the audience award at the Virginia-based festival, which marked its 13th edition this weekend. Orlando von Einsiedel’s “The Cycle of Love,” about the romantic journey of a Delhi street artist, took home the best documentary prize, while Kaouther Ben Hania’s emotionally charged “The Voice of Hind Rajab” won for international feature.

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“Hamnet,” which screened Saturday night as the festival’s Centerpiece selection, continues to be a crowd favorite following its audience prizes at the Toronto and Mill Valley film festivals. “Rental Family” closed out Middleburg, with writer-director Hikari in attendance for the screening.

The Middleburg Film Festival has earned a reputation as a bellwether for awards season. With the exception of the 2022 audience winner “Devotion,” every recipient of the festival’s top prize has gone on to receive at least one Academy Award nomination. Past honorees include “Conclave” and “September 5” (2023), “American Fiction” (2023), “Belfast” (2021), “Minari” (2020) and “Green Book” (2018).

Across the four-day weekend, the festival presented several tributes and special honors. Casting director Nina Gold received the inaugural Ensemble and Casting Award for her work on “Jay Kelly,” as well as “Hamnet,” which also earned Zhao the Visionary Director Award. Colin Farrell was honored with the Spotlight Actor Award following a screening of Edward Berger’s thriller “Ballad of a Small Player,” while Rose Byrne received the Agnès Varda Trailblazing Film Artist Award for her performance in Mary Bronstein’s A24 release “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You.”

Filmmaker Jon M. Chu and his longtime collaborators, cinematographer Alice Brooks and editor Myron Kerstein, were also honored with the fourth annual Variety Creative Collaborators award.

“This year’s festival has been one of our most inspiring yet,” said MFF founder and board chair Sheila Johnson. “We’re deeply appreciative of the filmmakers and studios who shared their extraordinary work with us, and to our audiences, sponsors and volunteers whose enthusiasm and support continue to make Middleburg such a special community for cinema.”

Following each screening, festivalgoers cast ballots for their favorite films. This year’s lineup featured 48 titles, spanning awards-season contenders, thought-provoking documentaries and acclaimed international features.