14/07/2003

The awards at the 9th edition of the International Meetings took place on Saturday, 12 July. This year, the event was organised to run during the Paris Cinéma festival which is scheduled to wrap on 15 July.
The outright winner of the Audience Grand Prix and the Arte/Paris Cinéma awards was Franco-Russian co-production, Baboussia by Lidia Bobrova. Italy’s Giada Colagrande took home the Future Award for her Aprimi il cuore while Argentine-French co-production Extraño by Santiago Loza won the Press Award.

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Produced by Russia’s Lenfilm and France’s 3B Productions, Baboussia managed to reconcile both critics and the public and put out-and-out favourites like the latest titles by Wolfgang Becker, Ferzan Ozpetek and Lone Scherfig in the shade. Furthermore, winning the Arte/Paris Cinéma award means that Baboussia will be released theatrically in France.
The Future Film jury of eleven Parisian film school students rewarded the 27-year-old Giada Colagrande who not only directed, but co-wrote, acted in and produced Aprimi il Cuore, through her Italia Garibaldi slate. The film is about two sisters embroiled in a passionate love affair.

The press voted for Extraño, the directorial debut of Argentine Santiago Loza. This film, which won a best film Tiger at the last edition of Rotterdam, was co-produced with France’s Aeternam Films.

(Translated from French)