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The New Zealand film portraying a quirky romance of two misfits, Eagle vs Shark, won the prize for best screenplay at the 13th annual US Comedy Arts Festival during the weekend.
The film's writer/director Taika Waititi was recently named as one of 10 new talents to watch in the United States entertainment magazine Variety.
Before the comedy festival at Aspen, Colorado, Eagle vs Shark premiered at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.
Waititi has said he writes humour "from finding the lighter side of tragic," and that: "Eagle vs Shark isn't a romantic comedy, rather a slightly dark, amusing tale with a little bit of love in it".
Eagle vs Shark which will go on general release in the United States on June 1 and has been selected to show at the Berlin and Rotterdam film festivals, distributor Miramax films said.
Produced by Ainsley Gardiner and NZ actor Cliff Curtis, it features music by Wellington based The Phoenix Foundation, and will be released later this year in New Zealand and Australia.
In 2000, Waititi was nominated for Best Actor at the Nokia Film Awards, and his first major film, the short film Two Cars, One Night, was nominated for an Oscar.
At Aspen, another offbeat romance, Ira and Abby was named best feature film, the Hollywood Reporter newspaper told Reuters. Jennifer Westfeldt and Jay Baruchel took the top acting prizes, Westfeldt for her role as an impulsive woman in Ira and Abby, which she also wrote; and Baruchel won the best actor award for his work as a small-town radio DJ in I'm Reed Fish.
Tom DiCillo was honoured as best director for Delirious. The documentary award went to director Seth Gordon's humorous look at the world of high-stakes video gaming competitions, The King of Kong.
- NZPA
