27/06/2016 - Maren Ade’s film took home not only the Golden Iris Award, but also Best Screenplay and the RTBF Award

The 14^th edition of the Brussels Film Festival came to a close on Friday 24 June with the awards ceremony. The official jury was made up of Flemish actress Natali Broods, Italian director Emanuele Crialese, Belgian actor Pierre Dherte, Dutch actor Derek De Lint and Croatian director Ivona Juka. 

Widely acclaimed when it was selected at Cannes in May this year, where the film came as a pleasant surprise for many critics (and where it also won the FIPRESCI Award), Toni Erdmann [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Maren Ade
film profile] by Maren Ade also ingratiated itself with the Brussels Film Festival jury, who were won over by this story of a chaotic reunion between a daughter who is an impeccably dressed senior executive, and her newly retired, easy-going father. 

Meanwhile, the White Iris Award went to A Good Wife [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the feature debut by Serbian actress-director Mirjana Karanovic, which was unveiled at Sundance in January. The director plays the lead role, stepping into the shoes of a woman who comes back to post-war Serbia to exorcise her own secrets and unearth those of others.

The jury also chose to hand its Jury Award to the Spanish title Callback [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carles Torras
film profile] by Carles Torras, which snagged the Golden Biznaga for Best Film after its premiere at the Málaga Film Festival.

We should also note that the Cineuropa Award was given to Pikadero [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ben Sharrock
film profile] by Ben Sharrock. This film is an unusual project, as it was shot in the Basque language by a British director, and delves to the heart of some topical social issues, exploring the consequences of the financial crisis and the fate (or lack thereof) of young Spaniards who cannot afford to leave the comfort of their family home. 

This year, the festival also invited German filmmaker Volker Schlöndorff as Guest of Honour. In addition to leading a film class in Flagey, he also kicked off a retrospective dedicated to him by introducing his cult film The Tin Drum.

Here is the complete list of winners at the 2016 edition of the festival:

Golden Iris Award
Toni Erdmann [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Maren Ade
film profile] - Maren Ade

White Iris Award
A Good Wife [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Mirjana Karanovic

Jury Award
Callback [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carles Torras
film profile] - Carles Torras

Cinelab Award for Best Cinematography
Giorgos Arvanitis - Blind Sun [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Joyce A Nashawati)

Best Screenplay Award
Toni Erdmann - Maren Ade

Cineuropa Award
Pikadero [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ben Sharrock
film profile] - Ben Sharrock

UPS Cinephile Award
Suntan [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Argyris Papadimitropoulos
film profile] - Argyris Papadimitropoulos

Audience Award
The Olive Tree [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Icíar Bollaín
film profile] - Icíar Bollaín

RTBF TV Award for Best Film
Toni Erdmann - Maren Ade

BeTV Award for Best Film
The Olive Tree - Icíar Bollaín

Studio L’Equipe Award for Best Short Film
De Broers van Bommel - Laurens Jans

Cinelab Award for Best Cinematography in a Short Film
Fiona Braillon - Drôle d’oiseau (Anouk Fortunie)

(Translated from French)