In addition to being European, the three films which triumphed in the Zurich Film Festival’s Fiction, Documentary and Focus competitions are also united in the need felt by their directors to depict the daily lives of modern day heroines, honest and pugnacious “women” who defy the conventions of the societies in which they live in order to uphold their own ideals.

The Golden Eye within the fiction film competition went to A Chiara [+lee también:
crítica
tráiler
entrevista: Jonas Carpignano
ficha de la película] by Italian director Jonas Carpignano, a work which previously scooped the Europa Cinemas Label at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. This third feature film by Carpignano - now a regular at the festival - tells the story of a sixteen-year-old girl who is confronted with the unforgiving world of the Calabrian Ndrangheta, which she courageously tries to “decode”. Presided over by German-Spanish actor Daniel Brühl, the jury was particularly struck by what they described as “a modern interpretation of traditional Italian neorealism”. The competition’s Special Mentions, meanwhile, were won by American movie Jockey, by Clint Bentley, and Iranian-French film Ballad of a White Cow [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], by Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghhaddam.

The competition dedicated to documentaries saw Life of Ivanna [+lee también:
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tráiler
ficha de la película] (produced by Russia, Norway, Finland and Estonia) hoisted onto the highest level of the podium, a film previously selected for a variety of international festivals, including Hot Docs and CPH:DOX. For four years, Guatemalan director Renato Borrayo Serrano followed the daily life of his protagonist: a courageous nomad travelling the Arctic tundra alongside her family. The jury was particularly impressed by the incredible perseverance demonstrated by the director, as well as that shown by his protagonist. Laure Portier’s poignant French-Belgian film Soy libre [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], which enjoyed its world premiere in Cannes’ ACID line-up, and Sweden’s Sabaya [+lee también:
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entrevista: Hogir Hirori
ficha de la película] by Hogir Hirori, which was presented at Sundance, both walked away with Special Mentions from this particular competition.

Switzerland basked in a moment of glory too, thanks to Fred Baillif’s rip roaring and sincere work The Fam [+lee también:
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entrevista: Fred Baillif
ficha de la película], which not only scooped the Golden Eye in the Focus Competition - dedicated to films hailing from Switzerland, Germany and Austria – but also earned itself the Ecumenical Film Award. Working hand in hand with his protagonists, who depict their own daily lives in a shelter for troubled youth, Baillif has crafted an authentic and captivating film which also won over the jury of the Berlinale’s Generation 14plus competition earlier this year (claiming the Grand Prize for Best Film). A Special Mention was awarded to Germany’s Behind the Headlines by Daniel Andreas Sager.

Staying with Switzerland, Dennis Stormer’s first film Youth Topia [+lee también:
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entrevista: Dennis Stormer, Marisa Meier
ficha de la película], which was presented in a world premiere, walked away with the Audience Award, while Azor [+lee también:
crítica
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entrevista: Andreas Fontana
ficha de la película], which is the first work by Geneva’s Andreas Fontana, previously presented in a world premiere within the Berlinale’s Encounters line-up, was the recipient of the Emerging Swiss Talent Award.

Having attracted far more viewers than predicted, the festival concluded on a very positive note, as confirmed by artistic director Christian Jungen.

The list of winners is as follows:

Fiction Competition

Golden Eye
A Chiara [+lee también:
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entrevista: Jonas Carpignano
ficha de la película] – Jonas Carpignano (Italy/France/Sweden/Denmark)

Special Mentions
Jockey – Clint Bentles (USA)
Ballad of a White Cow [+lee también:
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tráiler
ficha de la película] – Behtash Sanaeeha, Maryam Moghaddam (Iran/France)

Documentary Competition

Golden Eye
Life of Ivanna [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] – Renato Borrayo Serrano (Russia/Norway/Finland/Estonia)

Special Mentions
Soy libre [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] – Laure Portier (France/Belgium)
Sabaya [+lee también:
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entrevista: Hogir Hirori
ficha de la película] – Hogir Hirori (Sweden)

Focus Competition

Golden Eye
The Fam [+lee también:
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entrevista: Fred Baillif
ficha de la película] – Fred Baillif (Switzerland)

Special Mention
Behind the Headlines – Daniel Andreas Sager (Germany)

ZFF Competition for Children

Jury Prize
The Wolf and the Lion [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] – Gilles de Maistre (France/Canada)

Other Awards

Audience Award
Youth Topia [+lee también:
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entrevista: Dennis Stormer, Marisa Meier
ficha de la película] – Dennis Stormer (Switzerland/Germany)

Science Film Award
All Light, Everywhere – Theo Anthony (USA)

Emerging Swiss Talent Award
Azor [+lee también:
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entrevista: Andreas Fontana
ficha de la película] – Andreas Fontana (Switzerland/France/Argentina)

Best Music in an International Film
Andrey Mordovsky – Black Label (Spain) (short film)