'The Rocket' and 'The Kill Team' take top honors at Tribeca Film Festival

Published April 26, 2013

Associated Press

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  Adam Winfield is shown in "The Kill Team."The Kill Team

NEW YORK –  The Laos adventure "The Rocket" and the Afghanistan War documentary "The Kill Team" have taken top honors at the Tribeca Film Festival.

In an awards ceremony Thursday evening in New York, festival jurors selected Kim Mordaunt's "The Rocket" for best narrative film. Its 10-year-old star won best actor. The young Sitthiphon Disamoe stars as Aholo, who enters a rocket festival to help save his poverty-stricken family that's been uprooted for the construction of a dam.

Taking best documentary was Dan Krauss' "The Kill Team," an examination of the so-named group of U.S. soldiers charged with killing Afghan civilians.

Earlier Thursday, the festival awarded its first recipient of the inaugural Nora Ephron Prize, an award for female filmmakers. The prize went to writer-director Meera Menon. Her first film, "Farah Goes Bang," chronicles friends making a road trip to campaign for John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election.

The 12th annual Tribeca Film Festival ends Sunday.

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HONORS NIGHT NIXED: Principal Says Awards May Be 'Devastating' to Others

Published March 20, 2013

FoxNews.com

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  David Fabrizio, principal of Ipswich Middle School, notified parents of his plan to eliminate the school's Honors Night.MyFoxBoston.com

A Massachusetts principal has been criticized for canceling his school's Honors Night, saying it could be 'devastating' to the students who worked hard, but fell short of the grades.

MyFoxBoston.com reports that David Fabrizio, principal of Ipswich Middle School, notified parents last week of his plan to eliminate the event.

"The Honors Night, which can be a great sense of pride for the recipients' families, can also be devastating to a child who has worked extremely hard in a difficult class but who, despite growth, has not been able to maintain a high grade-point average," Fabrizio penned in his first letter to parents, the station reported.

Fabrizio also said he decided to make the change because academic success can be influenced by the amount of support a student  receives at home and not all students receive the same level of emotional and academic support at home.

Some parents disagree with his philosophy.

"It's been a tradition in Ipswich, and you're very proud as a parent to see your child, as well as some of the other children who made, really, some great efforts," Dave Morin, a parent, told the station.

Fabrizio says he plans to include the honors ceremony with a previously planned end of the year assembly where students will be recognized in front of the entire student body.

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