Brooklyn Heights Director Wins at Sundance

“Sin nombre” means “without a name,” or “nameless,” but Brooklyn Heights resident/filmmaker Cary Joji Fukunaga will a name many in film-making industry will soon know by heart. His debut film, Sin Nombre, just took home both the "U.S. Directing Award: Dramatic" and the "Excellence in Cinematography Award: U.S. Dramatic" at this year's Sundance Festival out in Park City, Utah.

His film, which is, "at once a love story and a chase film, a thrill ride and a vision of an apocalyptic hell," follows young Sayra, a Honduran teenager as she escapes on the roof of a train bound for the US border, helped by Mexican gangs. Cinematical is impressed, calling it "One of the more fascinating and gut-wrenching films at this year's festival," and "easily one of the best films of 2009 so far."

It also represents a risky venture that paid off for Focus Features, which initially funded the film's production with a first-time feature filmmaker and a little-known cast for a movie shot entirely in Spanish.

For a Q&A with the director, visit Sundance, and you can view the film's trailer, here: