15/11/2021 - The film Costa Brava, Lebanon and the series Snow Angels reigned triumphant at this year’s festival which welcomed 140 works in different formats

Now at its 27th edition, the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) is continually evolving, in step with the changes sweeping through the complex and ever mutating audiovisual world. Known for its Geneva Digital Market - the only Swiss market dedicated to audiovisual innovation - the GIFF presented its 30,000 or so attendees with a selection of 140 works, coming in all different formats. The Reflets d’Or awards in this year’s edition - which closed in style with the Swiss premiere of Eric Gravel’s latest film Full Time [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eric Gravel
film profile] – went to three strong personalities who aren’t afraid of exploring inhospitable lands in search of a truth which is ready and waiting to be revealed.

In the International Feature Films Competition, young Lebanese director Mounia Akl distinguished herself by way of her first film Costa Brava, Lebanon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which won the Reflet d’or for Best Feature Film. Telling the story of a family who take refuge in a small corner of Lebanese paradise, lost in green surrounds, the director denounces the waste scandal which hit her country in 2015. Caught up in a situation which escalates like a forest fire, the Badri family members are forced to face up to their anger and despair.

In terms of the series line-up - one of the festival’s flagship sections - Snow Angels emerged triumphant, courtesy of Swedish-Danish creator Mette Heeno who is known for being the brains behind the 2016 comedy drama Splitting Up Together. Both a detective story revolving around the disappearance of the protagonist’s five-week-old baby, and a portrait of an interesting group of women which revolves around Jenni, the series intrigues and drives the viewer to examine the thorny subject of motherhood and its psychological fallout.

Last but not least, Korean producer Gina Kim walked away with the Reflet d’Or for Best Immersive Work, by way of her courageous offering Tearless, which plunges the viewer into the hell of a detention centre for sex workers, while a Special Mention was awarded to the mystical-poetic work Liminal Lands created by Denmark’s Jakob Kudsk Steensen.

The one hundred guests attending the festival lent even greater depth to the many different formats it encompassed. Hugely popular Italian director Luca Guadagnino (the winner of the Geneva Award for Lifetime Achievement) shared a wealth of expertise with GIFF attendees in the course of his masterclass, and presented the film edit of his series We Are Who We Are [+see also:
series review
series profile]. The presence of actress Adèle Haenel, who discussed the invisibility of women in the archives with French director and artist Jean-Gabriel Périot, was equally noteworthy. Organised in association with Geneva’s HEAD, the event offered an opportunity for the director to present the Swiss premiere of his latest film Fragments [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which is narrated by the very same Adèle Haenel. French-Syrian director and comic book author Riad Sattouf, who was on the receiving end of the Film & Beyond Prize, closed the festival in style with a colourful masterclass, followed by a much appreciated book signing session for his latest book Le jeune acteur : tome 1 : Aventures de Vincent Lacoste au cinéma.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Reflet d’or for Best Feature Film
Costa Brava, Lebanon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Mounia Akl (Lebanon/France/Spain/Sweden/Denmark/Norway/Qatar)

Reflet d’or for Best Series
Snow Angels – Mette Heeno (Denmark)

Reflet d’or for Best Immersive Work
Tearless - Gina Kim (South Korea/USA)
Special Mention
Liminal Lands – Jakob Kudsk Steensen (France/Denmark/USA)

Other Awards

European Script Award
Pørni – Henriette Steenstrup (Norway)
Special Mention
Agatha Christie’s Hjerson – Partick Gyllström (Sweden)

Prix Future is sensible (Immersive Works)
Biolum – Abel Kohen (France)

(Translated from French)