Shirley Bruno received $30,000 for Just-Come/Been-To, a triptych narrative exploring intimate spaces of women, their inherited land conflicts, and buried family legacy. Three stories unearth an interwoven tapestry in Haiti: a dream-well of collective memory reflecting on one’s spiritual connection to a land, its primitive memories, and the Caribbean dilemma of exodus and return. Drawing on her own Haitian heritage, Bruno explores philosophies, aesthetics, and rhythms of lived moments found distinctively in the Caribbean, particularly as it pertains to the lives of women. Her intimate and participatory approach recreates modern myths that expose the spaces between the physical and spiritual world.

Jessica Beshir received $30,000 for Feyatey, a visual meditation on the unprecedented growth of Ethiopia’s khat industry. Khat, a mild narcotic leaf that induces fantasy, has become one of Ethiopia’s most lucrative cash crops due to the massive unemployment of the youth. Beshir’s film weaves footage of the Khat trade with a series of intimate portraits of Oromo khat farmers and urban youth exploring the boundaries between fiction and real-life in this powerful visual and sonic experience.