Other winners include The Repentant, Camille Rewinds and The Curse.
Chile’s Pablo Larrain took the top prize, the Art Cinema Award, of Directors Fortnight 2012 with drama No, starring Gael Garcia Bernal as an ad man working in the Pinochet era. The film has been a buzz title through Cannes, with Sony Pictures Classics already buying US rights (Funny Balloons handles international sales).
The Repentant/El Taaib, an Algerian/French drama about Islamic fundamentalism directed by Merzak Allouache, won the Europa Cinemas Label as Best European Film in Directors’ Fortnight. The film will now get the support of the Europa Cinemas Network, with additional promotion and incentives for exhibitors to extend the film’s run on screen. The jury of four network exhibitors said: “This is a brave and powerful film about the possible redemption of a young terrorist, and the impact on his family. Strong imagery and performances drive the film, and the end of the film is especially effective - there are no easy solutions to this problem.”
The Prix SACD for a French-language project went to Camille Rewinds (Camille redouble) by Noemie Lvovsky.
The Premier Prix Illy for Short Filmmaking went to UK production The Curse by Fyzal Boulifa, produced by Gavin Humphries of Quark Films and Karim Debbagh, and backed by Film4 and the BFI. A special mention went to The Living Also Cry (Os vivos tambem choram) by Basil da Cunha.
This was the first Fortnight since Edouard Waintrop took over artistic direction from Frederic Boyer.
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