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GENEVA 2018 Awards

AB Shawky’s Yomeddine emerges triumphant at the Geneva International Film Festival

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- The festival was brought to a close by the screening of Naomi Kawase’s Vision, followed by My Foolish Heart by Rolf Van Eijk, a documentary dedicated to trumpet player Chet Baker

AB Shawky’s Yomeddine emerges triumphant at the Geneva International Film Festival
Yomeddine by AB Shawky

The winners’ list of the 2018 GIFF (Geneva International Film Festival) saw the triumph of Egyptian director AB Shawky, who was able to win over the international competition jury (scooping the Reflet d’Or for Best Feature Film) thanks to Yomeddine [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: A.B. Shawky, Dina Emam
film profile
]
, a moving, poetic and tragicomic road movie that depicts a man in search of traces of his painful past. The jury also opted to grant a Special Mention to Long Day’s Journey into Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 by Bi Gan.

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Meanwhile, Autonomies by Yehonatan Indursky and Ori Elon was presented with the Reflet d’Or for Best TV Series, and Vestige by Aaron Bradbury came out on top in the Best Immersive Work category. Lastly, Rapin* (Jenny Wilson) by Gustaf Holtenäs and The Enemy by Karim Ben Khelifa respectively took home the Reflet d’Or for Best Music Video and the SENSible Award, which rewards digital works that stand out thanks to their humanist spirit. Oslo Zoo by Oyvind Holtmon charmed festivalgoers, walking away with the Audience Award for Best Web Series. The Film&Beyond Award, the GIFF’s honorary prize, was this year bestowed upon director Peter Greenaway’s immense body of work.

The gathering drew to a close with the screening of Naomi Kawase’s Vision [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, followed by My Foolish Heart [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 by Rolf Van Eijk (in the International Competition), a documentary dedicated to the great trumpet player Chet Baker. A total of 32,000 festivalgoers took part in the latest edition of the GIFF, which is undeniable proof of people’s active interest in this gathering that has always been committed to the newest technologies. Indeed, the audience of the 24th edition got themselves involved not only in the sections devoted to cinema and television, but also (and especially) in the programme dedicated to virtual reality.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning the heavy presence of Swiss films (five world and eight Swiss premieres), which just goes to show how much the festival supports national audiovisual production. In addition, the SWAN association presented a study on the role that women play in TV series in Switzerland. 

Here is the complete list of winners:

International Feature-film Competition

Reflet d’Or
Yomeddine [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: A.B. Shawky, Dina Emam
film profile
]
 - AB Shawky (Egypt/USA/Austria)

Special Mention of the Jury
Long Day’s Journey into Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 - Bi Gan (France/China)

International TV Series Competition

Reflet d’Or
Autonomies - Yehonatan Indursky and Ori Elon (Israel) 

International Music Video Competition

Reflet d’Or
Rapin* (Jenny Wilson) - Gustaf Holtenäs (Sweden)

International Competition for Immersive Multimedia Works

Reflet d’Or
Vestige - Aaron Bradbury (UK/France/USA)

Audience Award for Best Web Series (in partnership with Konbini)
Oslo Zoo - Oyvind Holtmon (Norway) 

Film&Beyond Honorary Award (in cooperation with O.Zbinden)
Peter Greenaway 

SENSible Award (in cooperation with Le Temps and the Leenaards Foundation)
The Enemy – Karim Ben Khelifa (France/Canada)

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(Translated from Italian)

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