“BIRDS of Passage,” Colombia’s latest Oscar bid, has topped the 36th edition of the Miami Film Festival.

The stunning epic on the origins of the Colombian narcotics trade, directed by Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra, won the US$40,000 Knight Marimbas Award, which will be split between Colombia’s Ciudad Lunar Productions and the film’s U.S. distributor The Orchard, which is set to release the film theatrically in selected markets, including in Miami, beginning Friday.

Sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the prize is given to the film “that best exemplifies richness and resonance for cinema’s future, named for the marimba, a variation of the xylophone that produces a deeper, richer and more resonant tone,” according to the festival. The award was presented by Grand Jury members Francesa Silvestri (“The Florida Project”), Rene Sampaio (“Brazilian Western”) and Tabare Blanchard (“Veneno”).

The fest’s Audience Award for best feature film went to Toronto International Film Festival entry “Screwball,” produced by Miami-based Rakontur and directed by Billy Corben. A documentary that traces the roots of the recent high-profile Major League Baseball doping scandal to bizarre origins in shady south Florida tanning salons, “Screwball” is set for a major release from New York-based Greenwich Entertainment and will open March 29 in Miami theaters.

With more than 160 features and short films from more than 40 countries, the event unveiled a new program called “Knight Heroes,” focused on the emerging generation of South Florida filmmakers, and honored guests Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight,” “If Beale Street Could Talk”), Boots Riley (“Sorry to Bother You”) and Aaron Stewart-Ahn, co-writer of the acclaimed breakout hit “Mandy.”

(SD-Agencies)