Visions du Réel ended its six day festival on Wednesday night with a closing ceremony at the Théâtre du Marens. Amongst the prizes awarded to films, the film “Hula and Natan” by Robby Elmaliah won the prize chosen by the “Jury of the young audience” and was one of those in the “top favourite five films” list of Trish Thalman (see post here). The film, “People I could have been and maybe am”, won the prize of the George Foundation and this film was reviewed here on this site by Kathy Morf . The film “A Still Jacket” (reviewed here), was given a special mention by Cinema Suisse Jury.
The ceremony finished with the screening of the gloriously colourful film called “Gypsy Spirit” by Harri Stojka.
Photo above: Courtesy Visions du Réel: Michael Treves (from JMT film distribution) receiving the prize on behalf of Robby Elmaliah, director of “Hula and Natan”.
Here are some of the results of other prizes awarded for the full list see Visions du Réel site.
The La Poste Suisse Grand Prix for best feature was awarded to “El Lugar Mas Pequeno” by Tatiana Huezo Sánchez, Mexico, for “its evocation of the invisible presence of the horror of the recent civil war in Salvador, which also mangaed to avoid the traditional representations of violence”. This film also won the prize awarded by the Interreligious Jury for the best feature film.
Above: A joyful Tatiana Huezo Sánchez receiving the top prize. Photo Courtesy Visions du Réel.
The La Poste Suisse Grand Prix for best director was awarded to Ikuisesti Sinun by Mia Halme, Finland, for “the radical look at complex family relationships between children and their biological parents and their foster families”.
In the medium-length category, the two George Foundation Awards went to the best medium-length film “Ein Brief Aus Deutschland” by Sebastian Mez, Germany, and to the best director in “People I could have been and Maybe Am” by Boris Gerrets, Netherlands..
The Visions du Réel Award for Best Short Film was awarded to “Anne Vliegt” by Catherine Van Campen, Netherlands.
The City of Nyon’s Audience (A new prize) attributed to the section Etat d’Esprit Swiss Jarreth Merz to “An African Election” showing the presidential elections in Ghana in 2008.
For the full list of winning films see the Visions du Réel site.
Facts about the festival : Despite the summer-like weather during the first five days of the festival. There was a “significant increase of 27% in weekly passes and the average attendance of 113 members of the public per session. The Doc Outlook-International Market (DOCM), which is a professional reference platform dedicated to documentary films, welcomed nearly 500 professionals this year (up 25% since 2009) who came to present their films and their projects, to make acquisitions, to train, to meet and to exchange ideas.
Date’s for your diary. Next year’s edition of Visions du Réel will take place from April 17 – 25 2012.