The Jerusalem Film Festival comes to an end
by Andrea Chung
- Last Days of Louis XIV and One Week and a Day take home the top prizes from the festival
The 33rd edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival (JFF) concluded on 17 July. According to the organisers, the audience attendance this year is more than likely to have broken all previous records at the JFF. In addition, important guests such as auteurs Quentin Tarantino, Laurie Anderson, Whit Stillman and many key industry executives graced the festival with their presence.
In the inaugural international competition section, Last Days of Louis XIV [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile] took home the Wilf Family Foundation Award for Best International Film. Directed by Catalan filmmaker Albert Serra, the movie had its premiere at Cannes, exploring the theme of mortality through the Sun King’s struggle in his final, bedridden days. Danish director Tobias Lindholm’s Oscar-nominated A War [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tobias Lindholm
film profile] also received an Honourable Mention from the jury comprising Alison Thompson of Cornerstone Films, Icelandic director of Rams [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Grimur Hakonarson
film profile] Grímur Hákonarson and Israeli filmmaker Tayla Lavie.
The FIPRESCI Award for Best International First Film went to the Turkish-French-Romanian co-production Albüm [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mehmet Can Mertoglu
film profile], directed by Mehmet Can Mertoğlu, while the same prize for Best Israeli First Film was snatched by Asaph Polonsky’s One Week and a Day [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which was also the winner of the Haggiag Award for Best Israeli Feature Film, the Anat Prichi Award for Best First Film and the Anat Prichi Award for Best Script.
Additionally, many other European films or co-productions received accolades at the festival: David Pablos’ Mexican-French co-production The Chosen Ones [+see also:
trailer
film profile] took home the Cummings Award for Best Feature Film within the In the Spirit of Freedom competition. In the same section, the Cambodian-French documentary Exile [+see also:
trailer
film profile] received an Honourable Mention. In the Jewish Experience sidebar, Belgian director Chantal Ackerman’s No Home Movie [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] won the Avner Shalev–Yad Vashem Chairman’s Award for Holocaust-related Films, and the jury gave an Honourable Mention to Forever Pure, an Israeli-UK documentary directed by Maya Zinshtein, who also received Best Director of a Documentary in the Israeli main competition.
Here is the list of winners at the 2016 Jerusalem Film Festival:
International Competition
Wilf Family Foundation Award for Best International Film
Last Days of Louis XIV [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile] – Albert Serra
Honourable Mention
A War [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tobias Lindholm
film profile] – Tobias Lindholm
Debuts Competition
FIPRESCI Award for Best International First Film
Albüm [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mehmet Can Mertoglu
film profile] – Mehmet Can Mertoğlu
FIPRESCI Award for Best Israeli Debut
One Week and a Day [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Asaph Polonsky
In the Spirit of Freedom Competition in memory of Win van Leer
Cummings Award for Best Feature Film
The Chosen Ones [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – David Pablos
Ostrovsky Award for Best Documentary Film
Hooligan Sparrow – Nanfu Wang
Honourable Mention
Exile [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Rithy Panh
Israeli Film Competition
Haggiag Award for Best Israeli Feature Film
One Week and a Day – Asaph Polonsky
Van Leer Award for Best Documentary Film
Dimona Twist – Michal Aviad
Anat Pirchi Award for Best First Film
One Week and a Day – Asaph Polonsky
Van Leer Award for Best Director of a Documentary
Maya Zinshtein – Forever Pure
Anat Prichi Award for Best Script
One Week and a Day – Asaph Polonsky
Haggiag Award for Best Actress
Shiree Nadav-Naor – Beyond the Mountains and Hills [+see also:
trailer
film profile]
Haggiag Award for Best Actor
Moris Cohen – Our Father
Van Leer Award for Best Cinematography
Yaron Scharf – Harmonia
Haggiag Award for Best Editing
Justine Wright and Noam Amit – Forever Pure
Haggiag Award for Best Music
Ruth Dolores Weiss – We Had a Forest
Audience Favourite Award
Saving Neta – Nir Bergman
The Jewish Experience Awards
Avner Shalev–Yad Vashem Chairman’s Award for Holocaust-related Films
No Home Movie [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Chantal Ackerman
Lia Van Leer Award for Films about Jewish Heritage
Harmonia – Ori Sivan
Honourable Mention
Forever Pure – Maya Zinshtein
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