Haitian-Canadian director Fitch Jean’s drama It Comes in Waves (pictured) led the feature-film winners at the 25th annual Reelworld Film Festival+Summit.

It Comes in Waves won five out of the nine feature-film awards handed out over the weekend at Reelworld, including Outstanding Feature Film. It also won prizes for writing (Sammy Mohamed), producing (Amir Zargara), acting (Adrian Walters) and cinematography (Jelan Maxwell).

The film follows a family of four who flee from Rwanda to Ottawa, only to find more challenges in their new home. It is produced by Zargara Productions and Lenz Films in association with BDB Productions.

It Comes in Waves served as the opening film for Reelworld, after making its world premiere at the American Black Film Festival in June. Mongrel Media handles distribution in Canada.

Other winners at Reelworld included Moroccan filmmaker Lamia Chraibi, who won Outstanding Feature Director for the Portuguese-language documentary Circo, which also won Best Documentary.

Produced by Montreal’s Productions Leitmotiv, Circo follows a 20-year-old artist in Rio de Janeiro who attempts to follow his dream of working at the circus after being kicked out of his childhood home. Les Films du 3 Mars is the Canadian distributor.

Mohamed Ahmed’s romantic drama A Tribe Called Love (Mahaica Point Media) won the Audience Choice Award. The story is set in Toronto and centres on two Somali youths from rival groups who fall in love. Mongrel Media is the Canadian distributor.

Rounding out the feature winners is Montréal, ma belle (Montreal, My Beautiful), which picked up Outstanding Feature Actress for Joan Chen. The film is written and directed by Xiaodan He and produced by Les Films Camera Oscura and Red Dawn Productions. It centres on a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant who defies her duties as a mother to pursue a relationship with another woman.

Reelworld also handed out awards to the shorts programmed for the festival. Kevin Jin Kwan Kim’s My Dad, The Rockstar won Outstanding Short Film, and Outstanding Shorts Actor went to Sangbum Kang.

Omorose Osagie’s Lost Wax won Outstanding Shorts Producer for Grace Shutti and Momo Spaine, as well as Outstanding Shorts Cinematographer for Antonia Ramirez.

Vanessa Magic won the directing award for I Am Pleased, while Jenny Lee-Gilmore picked up the writing prize for With Time. The other acting award went to Rochelle Avis for Paul Persic’s Lichun.

The awards included more than $30,000 in cash prizes, according to a news release.

The Reelworld Film Festival+Summit wrapped its in-person run on Sunday (Oct. 19), but it continues online until Oct. 26.

Image courtesy of Mongrel Media