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FESTIVALS Iceland

Beasts of the Southern Wild wins Golden Puffin in Reykjavik

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- US director Benh Zeitlin's Beasts of the Southern Wild has won the top prize at Iceland's 9th Reykjavik International Film Festival, which reached 30,000 admissions

US director Benh Zeitlin's feature debut Beasts of the Southern Wild (photo) added a Golden Puffin to its festival triumphs, when Iceland's 9th Reykjavik International Film Festival came to a close on Sunday (October 7).

The jury, presided over by Geoffrey Gilmore, head of New York’s Tribeca Film Festival, gave the festival grand prix in the New Visions competition to Zeitlin's fantasy drama, which took four top prizes, including the Camera ad’Or, when launched, in this year's Un Certain Regard. It premiered in Sundance, where it also won the Jury Grand Prix, and has since collectedmajor awards in Deauville, Los Angeles, Hollywood and Seattle.

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US director Sean Baker's Starlet received the international critics' FIPRESI Award, while the audiences cast their ballots in favour of Icelandic director Sólveig Anspach's French-produced comedy Queen of Montreuil [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Solveig Anspach
film profile
]
. Unspooling more than 100 films at three Reykjavik theatres, the ninth edition of the showcase sold around 30,000 tickets.

Total list of 2012 winners

The Golden Puffin (for a film in the New Visions competition of first or second features): Beasts of the Southern Wild Dir: Benh Zeitlin (US)

The international critics' FIPRESCI Award: Starlet Dir: Sean Baker (USA)

The Audience Award: Queen of Montreuil Dir: Sólveig Anspach (Iceland)

The Ecumenical-Church of Iceland Award: God's Neighbours Dir: Meny Yaesh (Israel)

The Environment Award (to a film in the GREENdocs category): Vivan las Antipodas! [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
Dir: Victor Kossakovsky (Russia)

The Golden Egg Award (to a participant in the Transatlantic Talent Lab - to encourage young talent): On This Island Dir: Matthew Hammett Knot (US)

Best Icelandic Short: Sailcloth. Dir: Elfar Adalsteins

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