10/10/2022 - The second feature film by French-Tunisan director Erige Sehiri bagged the biggest prize at the 37th International French-Language Film Festival

Having turned heads with her first feature film, the documentary Railway Men [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Erige Sehiri has now made the leap to fiction via Under the Fig Trees [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Erige Sehiri
film profile], a hard-hitting and sensitive feature presented in a world premiere within this year’s Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes. The film follows in the footsteps of Malek and her friends who work in orchards over the summer in order to earn a little bit of money to fund their studies, their weddings, or simply to boost their families’ finances. It’s a story of sorority and intergenerational encounters, co-produced by France, Switzerland, Germany and Tunisia, which has walked away with the festival’s Grand Prize, the Golden Bayard.

Presided over by Belgian producer Annabella Nezri (Kwassa Films) and further composed of French orchestra director and composer Uèle Lamore, Congolese director Dieudo Hamadi, Belgian actor Laurent Capelluto and French casting director Youna de Peretti, the jury decided to award its Special Prize to French film The Gravity [+see also:
film review
film profile], which is actor and director Cédric Ido’s second feature film, taking the form of a fantasy drama in which an unexpected planetary alignment impacts a city’s gravity and equilibrium. A Special Mention was also awarded to Romanian filmmaker Paul Negoescu’s movie Men of Deeds [+see also:
film review
interview: Paul Negoescu
film profile].

For its part, the Golden Bayard for Best Screenplay went to Louis Garrel, Tanguy Viel and Naïla Guiguet by way of Louis Garrel’s The Innocent [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], while Best Photography went to Julien Poupard for Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi’s Forever Young [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
film profile]. Also within the Official Competition, the Best Acting Performance Bayard was won by Romanian actor Iulian Postelnicu for Men of Deeds, while the Agnès Award for Egalitarian Vision was handed to Blandine Lenoir’s Angry Annie [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile].

In terms of the First Work Competition, the Youth Jury singled out Le Marchand de Sable by French director Steve Achiepo, starring Moussa Mansaly, Benoît Magimel, Aïssa Maïga and Ophélie Bau. The Agnès Award within this section was bestowed upon Leopold Legrand’s movie, which has just been released in France and Belgium: The Sixth Child [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], while Belgian film Love According to Dalva [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuelle Nicot
interview: Emmanuelle Nicot, Julie Esp…
film profile] - which is the debut feature by Emmanuelle Nicot who turned heads in Cannes’ Critics’ Week - scooped the Discovery Prize as well as the Best Performance trophy for young Fanta Guirassy, in her first ever role. The movie also won over the Junior Jury (composed of 12-13-year-old students), subsequently scooping their prize.

The list of winners is as follows:

Official Competition

Golden Bayard for Best Film
Under the Fig Trees [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Erige Sehiri
film profile] - Erige Sehiri (Tunisia/France/Switzerland/Germany)

Special Jury Bayard
The Gravity [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Cédric Ido (France)

Jury Special Mention
Men of Deeds [+see also:
film review
interview: Paul Negoescu
film profile] - Paul Negoescu (Romania/Bulgaria)

Bayard for Best Screenplay
Louis Garrel, Tanguy Viel and Naïla Guiguet – The Innocent [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (France)

Bayard for Best Photography
Julien Poupard – Forever Young [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
film profile] (France/Italy)

Bayard for Best Acting Performance
Iulian Postelnicu – Men of Deeds

Agnès Award
Angry Annie [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Blandine Lenoir (France)

1st Work Competition

Bayard for Best 1st Work
Le Marchand de Sable - Steve Achiepo (France)

Discovery Prize
Dalva [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuelle Nicot
interview: Emmanuelle Nicot, Julie Esp…
film profile] - Emmanuelle Nicot (Belgium/France)

Special Mention
Ashkal [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Youssef Chebbi (Tunisia/France)

Best Acting Performance
Fanta Guirassy - Dalva

Agnès Award
The Sixth Child [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Leopold Legrand (France)

Off Awards

Junior Jury Prize
Love According to Dalva - Emmanuelle Nicot

Critics’ Prize
Les Femmes préfèrent en rire - Marie Mandy (Belgium) (medium-length film)

RTBF Prize
Forever Young - Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi

BeTV Prize
The Sixth Child - Leopold Legrand

Audience Award for Best Fiction Feature Film
Les Grands Seigneurs [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Sylvestre Sbille (Belgium)

Audience Award for Best Belgian Documentary
Soeurs de combat - Henri de Gerlache (Belgium/France)

(Translated from French)