The Castle and My Worst Enemy triumph at Amiens
- Martín Benchimol and Mehran Tamadon’s documentaries tied to win the Grand Prize, while Heartless nabbed the Jury Prize and Bye Bye Tiberias the Audience Award
There were two champions to come out of the 43rd Amiens International Film Festival (FIFAM), which unspooled 10 to 18 November, as the Grand Prize was awarded jointly to two documentaries: The Castle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martín Benchimol
film profile] by Argentine’s Martín Benchimol (a French co-production unveiled in the Berlinale’s Panorama line-up, which previously won the Horizontes Latinos trophy in San Sebastian) and the French-Swiss title My Worst Enemy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mehran Tamadon
film profile] by Iran’s Mehran Tamadon (likewise discovered in Berlin, this time within the Encounters line-up, and due for release in French cinemas on 28 February via Survivance).
The Jury Prize, for its part, went to the French-Italian-co-produced fiction film Heartless [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Brazilian duo Nara Normande and Tião, which enjoyed its premiere in Venice’s Orizzonti section and is set for distribution in France on 6 March 2024, courtesy of Les Valseurs.
The audience, meanwhile, crowned Lina Soualem’s documentary Bye Bye Tiberias [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lina Soualem
film profile] their champion, a work which was very well received in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori and which focuses on the tormented lives and resilience of the Palestinian women in the filmmaker’s family, including her mother Hiam Abbass. The movie will be released in French cinemas on 24 April next year, by way of JHR Films.
Last but not least, this year’s edition of FIFAM - an event centring around works which help to express the identity of peoples or ethnic minorities, and to educate audiences on cultures – also dedicated a Focus session to French-Cambodian filmmaker Davy Chou (Return to Seoul [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Davy Chou
film profile], Diamond Island [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) as part of Films du Losange’s 60-year anniversary, as well as celebrating the 25-year anniversary of Carlotta Films (an eminent distributor of heritage films).
The list of winners is as follows:
Grand Prize (tie-break)
The Castle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martín Benchimol
film profile] - Martín Benchimol (Argentina/France)
My Worst Enemy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mehran Tamadon
film profile] - Mehran Tamadon (France/Switzerland)
Jury Prize
Heartless [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Nara Normande and Tião (Brazil/France/Italy)
Grand Prize for Best Short Film
Mast-Del - Maryam Tafakory (Iran/UK)
Grand Prize for Best Medium-Length Film
Le bruit de l’eau, le gris du parking – Le vert - Théo Sauvé (France)
Big Screen Documentary Prize
Anhell69 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Theo Montoya
film profile] - Theo Montoya (Colombia/Romania/France/Germany)
Student Jury Prize
The Bride - Myriam Birara (Rwanda)
Student Jury Special Mention
My Worst Enemy - Mehran Tamadon
Audience Award
Bye Bye Tiberias [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lina Soualem
film profile] - Lina Soualem (France/Belgium/Qatar/Palestine)
(Translated from French)
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