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NIFFF 2021 Awards

Lapsis and Tides dominate the winners’ list at the NIFFF

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- The champions of the festival’s hybrid edition include US director Noah Hutton’s work, the title by Switzerland’s Tim Fehlbaum, and Boys From County Hell by Ireland’s Chris Baugh

Lapsis and Tides dominate the winners’ list at the NIFFF
Director Tim Fehlbaum collects one of his awards for Tides during the NIFFF ceremony (© Miguel Bueno/NIFFF)

The hybrid edition of the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) closed in great style, thanks mainly to its impressive attendance results of 29,000 viewers, which include 2,000 online viewings. On the one hand, the unprecedented format of the festival, unspooling both in person and online, allowed it to reconnect with audiences in cinemas (on a limited space basis, being at two thirds of their capacity) who were hungry for shared, “horrific” experiences and, on the other, to enhance access to its online programme, which straight away seduced the thrill-seeking segment of the audience. This latest edition also saw several screenings playing to a full house. Meetings with guests linked to films within the official selection, in person and remotely by way of a new tool, were likewise a great success.

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In terms of the festival’s trophies, the prestigious H.R. Giger “Narcisse” for Best Film was awarded to the cryptically fascinating Lapsis by US director Noah Hutton: a joyous social satire dominated by dark humour. Lapsis describes the harrowing daily life of a delivery man (as well as others living on the margins) who accepts a new job that’s lucrative but strange: pulling cables between metal cubes across kilometres of forest.

The power and creative spirit of Swiss cinema also dominated the awards, thanks to Tim Fehlbaum’s surprising work Tides [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
which scooped two major prizes: Best Production Design and the RTS Audience Award. Tides is a dystopia which is both nerve-wracking and full of humanity, showing us the limits of a world at risk of disappearing – our own.

The frightening and at times hilarious Boys from County Hell [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Irish director Chris Baugh also won a trophy in the form of the prestigious Silver Mélies for Best European Fantastic Feature Film. Boys From Country Hell proves that it’s always best to be wary of legends and that even the smallest and quietest corners of Ireland can conceal blood-thirsty vampires.

As for the other European prize-winners, The Feast [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Lee Haven Jones bagged the International Critics’ NIFFF Award, while Censor [+see also:
film review
interview: Prano Bailey-Bond
film profile
]
by Prano Bailey-Bond nabbed the Youth trophy. In short, this 2021 edition of NIFFF has once again stimulated the visual senses of its insatiable fans, whilst showing that fantastic cinema still has many strings to its bow.

The full list of winners is as follows:

International Competition

HR Giger Narcisse Award for Best Film
Lapsis - Noah Hutton (USA)
Special Mention
Cryptozoo - Dash Shaw (USA)

Silver Méliès for Best European Fantastic Feature Film
Boys from County Hell [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Chris Baugh (UK/Ireland)

Imaging the Future Award for Best Production Design
Tides [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Tim Fehlbaum (Germany/Switzerland)

Denis-De-Rougemont Youth Prize
Censor [+see also:
film review
interview: Prano Bailey-Bond
film profile
]
- Prano Bailey-Bond (UK)

RTS Audience Award
Tides - Tim Fehlbaum

NIFFF International Critics’ Award
The Feast [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Lee Haven Jones (UK)

New Cinema from Asia Competition

Audience Award for Best Asian Film
Ok! Madam - Lee Cheol-ha (South Korea)

Short Film Competition

HR Giger Narcisse Award for Best Swiss Short Film
Little Miss Fate - Joder von Rotz (Switzerland)
Special Mention
Le vigneron de la mort - Victor Jaquier (Switzerland)

Silver Méliès for Best European Fantastic Short
Little Miss Fate - Joder von Rotz (Switzerland)

Taurus Studio Innovation Prize
Phlegm - Jan-David Bolt (Switzerland)

Audience Award for Best Short Film
Sprötch - Xavier Seron (Belgium)

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(Translated from French)

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