14/11/2017 - The Geneva International Film Festival has once again managed to beguile an increasingly demanding audience

Having now reached its 23^rd edition, the former Tous Ecrans Festival, which has been rechristened Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) as of this year, is proving fiercer than ever. Its unconventional character is reflected in the choice of the film crowned with the top prize (the Reflet d’Or) in the cinema category (International Feature Competition): Sexy Durga by Indian director Sanal Sasidharan.

Sexy Durga is a gripping and provocative “feminist” road movie that has incurred the wrath of the most conservative Indian community. The jury of the International Competition, chaired by German director Edgar Reitz, also opted to bestow a Special Mention upon the Russian film Closeness [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Kantemir Balagov.

As for the International TV Series Competition, which has always represented the distinctive peculiarities of the Geneva-based gathering, the Reflet d’Or went to the US series The Sinner by Derek Simonds, which came in just ahead of the Belgian title Unité 42 by Annie Carels, Julie Bertrand and Charlotte Joulia (which snagged a Special Mention). In the words of the jury, this promising trio “were able to create a classic series that is as profound from a psychological point of view as it is gripping from the perspective of the screenplay”.

Brimming with an impressive number of films screening in various formats (both big and small screen, digital, virtual reality, and so on and so forth), the GIFF has once again managed to beguile an ever more demanding audience, which embraced its new image with renewed curiosity. The festival came to a close with the screening of the documentary Piazza Vittorio [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Abel Ferrara (who picked up the Film & Beyond Honorary Award).

Here is the complete list of award winners:

International Feature Competition

Reflet d’Or
Sexy Durga - Sanal Sasidharan (India)

Special Mention of the Jury
Closeness [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Kantemir Balagov (Russia)

International Short Film Competition

Reflet d’Or
Martin pleure - Jonathan Vinel (France)

Special Mention of the Jury 
How to Reach God Through Proper Exercising - Gabriel Herrera Torres (Poland)

International TV Series Competition

Reflet d’Or 
The Sinner - Derek Simonds (USA)

Special Mention of the Jury 
Unité 42 - Annie Carels, Julie Bertrand and Charlotte Joulia (Belgium)

International Music Video Competition

Reflet d’Or
Pluie Fine (Corine – Polo & Pan Remix), Hîm TiVi (France)

International Competition for VR Works

Reflet d’Or
Altération - Jérôme Blanquet (France)

Special Mention of the Jury 
Alice, The Virtual Reality Play - Mathias Chelebourg, Marie Jourdren (France)

Youth Award (Honorary)
Miyubi - Félix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphaël (Canada/USA)

International Web Series Competition

Reflet d’Or
Monsieur Flap - Nicolas Athané, Brice Chevillard (France)

Special Mention of the Jury
Iran #NoFilter - Valérie Urréa, Nathalie Masduraud (France)

(Translated from Italian)