The Other Side of Everything is the big winner at the Millennium Film Festival
- Mila Turajlic’s film took home the Objectif d’Or award of the Brussels festival, while Talal Derki’s Of Fathers and Sons left with a special prize
This year, the Brussels Millennium Film Festival, dedicated to documentary films, celebrated ten years of existence. For this special anniversary edition of the festival, its organisers decided to nominate an international selection of the previous year’s most remarkable films, as well as centering the festival programme around the major issues that face us in today’s globalised world: data protection, looking after the environment, the future of work and gender interactions. The awards ceremony also closed with a special prize, celebrating ten years of the festival and awarded to Of Fathers and Sons [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Talal Derki, which had also previously triumphed in the international competition section of the ZagrebDox International Documentary Film Festival. As the President of the Millennium Festival, Lubomir Guéorguiev, explained, "a documentary is a film that must run against the tide and give a voice to those who do not have one ".
The international competition brought together the best documentaries from all over the world, selected for their originality and for their authentic and unyielding examination of current-day issues. The jury awarded the grand prize of the festival, the Objectif d'Or, to The Other Side of Everything [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mila Turajlić
film profile], where Mila Turajlic retraces the chaotic steps taken by Serbia towards democracy, as seen through the eyes of former political activist, Srbijanka Turajlic. The Objectif d’Argent was won by Thank You for the Rain [+see also:
trailer
film profile], by Julia Dahr and Kisilu Musya. Last but not lease, the Objectif de Bronze was taken home by A Woman Captured [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Bernadette Tuza-Ritter for its denunciation of modern-day slavery. This film also received recognition at the Hungarian Film Awards.
The Belgian cinema section aimed to promote a wide range of the best national documentaries of the past year. Johan Grimonprez won the prize for best film with the medium-length film Blue Orchid, while the award for best screenplay went to Rabot [+see also:
trailer
film profile], by Christina Vandekerckhove. The World’s Workers and Young Vision competitions, meanwhile, gathered together films centred around work and the participation of young people respectively.
The full list of Millennium Festival award winners is as follows:
International Competition
Objectif d’Or
The Other Side of Everything [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mila Turajlić
film profile] — Mila Turajlic (France/Serbia/Qatar)
Objectif d’Argent
Thank You for the Rain [+see also:
trailer
film profile] — Julia Dahr and Kisilu Musya (Norway/UK)
Objectif de Bronze
A Woman Captured [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]— Bernadett Tuza-Ritter (Hungary/Germany)
Special Award of the Jury
Taste of Cement [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] — Ziad Kalthoum (Germany/Lebanon/Syria/UAE/ Qatar)
Audience Award
Muhi [+see also:
trailer
film profile]— Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander and Tamir Elterman (Germany/Israel)
Special 10th Anniversary Award
Of Fathers and Sons [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] — Talal Derki (Syria/Lebanon/Germany)
La Trois Award
Almost Heaven [+see also:
trailer
film profile] — Carol Salter (UK)
Belgian Cinema Competition
Best Belgian Film
Blue Orchids — Johan Grimonprez (Belgium) (medium-length film)
Best Screenplay
Rabot [+see also:
trailer
film profile]— Christina Vandekerckhove (Belgium)
World’s Workers Competition
World’s Workers Award
The Future of Work and Death — Sean Blacknell and Wayne Walsh (UK/Germany/US)
Young Vision Competition
Young Vision Award
Valentina — Maximilian Feldmann (Germany) (medium-length film)
(Translated from French)
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