DIRECTOR Stephen Daldry’s “Trash” took home the BNL People’s Choice Gala Award on Saturday night at the Rome Film Festival. The film was competing against 14 other films, including Mike Binder’s “Black and White,” Andrea Di Stefano’s “Escobar: Paradise Lost,” David Fincher’s “Gone Girl,” Steven Soderbergh’s TV series “The Knick” and Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland’s “Still Alice.”

    Daldry’s first three feature films all earned him best director Academy Award nominations. His latest, “Trash,” explores the corruption in Brazil’s political and police forces as seen through the eyes of three teenage boys who stumble upon a wallet in a landfill that holds the secret to one politician’s downfall. The film was shot in Portuguese, with English-speaking cameos from Rooney Mara, who plays an aid worker, and Martin Sheen, who plays a missionary priest.

    The festival scrapped the standard jury system this year in favor of audience awards modeled after the Toronto Film Festival. The idea was to prove that the Roman public could serve as a testing ground for the larger European audience, particularly for films still seeking distribution. Voting was conducted via tablets outside of the screening halls or on the festival’s website or mobile app.

    Vishal Bhardwaj’s “Haider” took home the People’s Choice Award in Mondo Genere, competing against six other films, including Dan Gilroy’s “Nightcrawler,” Brad Anderson’s “Stonehearst Asylum” and Kevin Smith’s “Tusk.”

    Zu Ang’s “12 Citizens” took home the People’s Choice Award in Cinema Today, competing against 15 other films.(SD-Agencies)