21/11/2016 - The Golden Unicorn has gone to Midi Z’s film, while Hedi picked up two awards, The Park snagged one and Wùlu took home the Audience Award

Chaired by filmmaker Philippe Faucon (flanked by his counterpart Alain Gomis, among others), the competition jury for the 36th Amiens International Film Festival has handed out its Grand Prix, the 2016 Golden Unicorn, to The Road to Mandalay [+see also:
trailer
interview: Midi Z
film profile] by Burmese director Midi Z. Popular in the Venice Days and also screened at Toronto, this co-production between France (House on Fire), Germany (Bombay Berlin Film Production), Myanmar and Taiwan – with backing from such sources as the CNC’s World Cinema Support, the Berlinale World Cinema Fund, the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation Atelier and the Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde – is being sold by Urban Distribution International.

True to the editorial policy of a festival founded on promoting differences and exploring cultural identities, the winners’ list at this edition also saw Hedi [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Tunisian director Mohamed Ben Attia snag two awards: Best Director and Best Actress (for Rym Ben Attia). After being unveiled in competition at Berlin (where it won the Best Actor and Best Debut Film Awards), it went on to also scoop prizes at Athens and Bordeaux. The feature co-produced by France and Belgium is being sold by Luxbox, and will be distributed in French theatres from 28 December, courtesy of Bac Films.

The awards list of the 2016 edition of the Amiens Film Festival also includes The Park [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by young French filmmaker Damien Manivel, which was singled out with the Best Actor Award for Maxime Bachellerie. The film, which was revealed at Cannes, in the alternative ACID selection, and is being sold by The Open Reel, will go on general release in France on 4 January 2017, via Shellac.

Lastly, we should mention that the Audience Award was given to the African gangster film Wùlu [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Daouda Coulibaly (a co-production between Senegal, France and Mali, which proved popular at Toronto), the Belgian production La Terre abandonnée by Gilles Laurent was victorious in the documentary category, and the Golden Unicorns for Lifetime Achievement were handed to US director Douglas Trumbull and Vietnamese filmmaker Dang Nhât Minh.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Grand Prix for a Feature Film (Golden Unicorn)
The Road to Mandalay [+see also:
trailer
interview: Midi Z
film profile] - Midi Z (Taiwan/Myanmar/France/Germany)

City of Amiens – Best Director Award
Hedi [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Mohamed Ben Attia (Tunisia/France/Belgium)

Best Actress Award
Rym Ben Attia – Hedi

Best Actor Award
Maxime Bachellerie – The Park [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Damien Manivel (France)

Best Documentary Award
La Terre abandonnée - Gilles Laurent (Belgium)

Best Medium-length Film
Clitopraxis - Emmanuel Laborie (France)

Audience Award for a Feature Film
Wùlu [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Daouda Coulibaly (Senegal/France/Mali)

Audience Award for a Short Film
Birth of a Leader - Antoine de Bary (France)

CCAS Award
Hedi - Mohamed Ben Attia

Fémis Award (European Short Films)
Import - Ena Sendijarevic (the Netherlands)

Unicorn Children’s Award (European Short Films)
Ascensão - Pedro Peralta (Portugal)

L’Eveil d’Arthur Award
Le Temps de compter - Frédéric de Pontcharra (France)

(Translated from French)