Tribeca: “Good Girl Jane,” “The Cave of Adullam,” & More Women-Directed Offerings Win Major Awards

Women-directed titles have landed the top prizes in the U.S. Narrative Competition and Documentary Competition at the 2022 edition of Tribeca Film Festival.

The winner of the Founders’ Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature, Sarah Elizabeth Mintz’s “Good Girl Jane” is a coming-of-age story about a lonely teenager whose life gets turned upside down when she falls for a meth dealer. The drama’s star, Rain Spencer, netted the honor for Best Performance.

“Jane’s story is inspired by my own freshman year in high school,” Mintz told us. “I spent the better part of my young life searching for a way out of my dark feelings and the shame that they caused. I felt compelled to shed light on what that struggle looked like for me in an effort to provide comfort and healing to those who have faced similar struggles.” The writer, director, and producer explained, “It’s taken me the better part of a decade to develop and finally release this film and it’s happening at a divine moment when I can finally look back with love, tenderness, and compassion for my younger self.

Best doc winner “The Cave of Adullam,” directed by Laura Checkoway, looks inside a martial arts academy in Detroit and follows three tween boys studying there. It also won Best Editing.

Michelle Garza Cervera’s “Huesera,” a horror pic about a pregnant woman, took home two prizes as well: the Nora Ephron Award and Best New Narrative Director. Floor van der Meulen received a special jury nod in the latter category for “Pink Moon,” the story of adult siblings reckoning with their father’s announcement that he’s ready to end his life.

Tribeca kicked off June 8 and concludes tomorrow, June 19. Head over to Deadline to check out all of the awardees, including Best Screenplay winner Elizabeth Rodriguez (“Allswell”).