Czech filmmaker Helena Trestikova's Rene has received the International Jury's Golden Dove at the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film.

The story of an outsider of society observed by Trestikova over the course of almost 20 years was also awarded the MDR Film Prize for an outstanding East European documentary.

This is the latest major recognition for Rene which is being handled internationally by London-based Taskovski Films.

Rene was recently named European documentary of the year and awarded the Prix Arte by the European Film Academy. Last week it picked up the Audience Award at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival.

Meanwhile, the FIPRESCI critics jury in Leipzig bestowed its award on Heddy Honigmann's Oblivion (El Olvido), which also picked up the International Jury's Silver Dove and the Ecumenical Jury Award. The critics described Honigmann's film as 'a multilayered cinematic cocktail which reveals a poetical and Chaplinesque vision of the resilience of humanity.'

Other prizes included the Best German Documentary for Thomas Lauterbach's Bastion Of Sin, the DEFA Support Award for Marcus Vetter and Leon Geller's The Heart of Jenin, and the Talent Dove for Ilian and Metodi Metev's Goleshovo.

In addition, the International Jury for Animated Films awarded its Golden Dove to French filmmaker Jeremy Clapin for Skhizein and the Silver Dove, and to the UK's Kristian Andrews for Rabbit Punch.

Topics