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BRIFF 2022 Awards

Sundown, Will-o'-the-Wisp and Austral scoop BRIFF’s Grand Prizes

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- The 5th BRIFF has awarded a new prize to Mexican director Michel Franco, as well as commending João Pedro Rodriguez’s unclassifiable musical and Benjamin Colaux’s wonderful documentary

Sundown, Will-o'-the-Wisp and Austral scoop BRIFF’s Grand Prizes
The winners of the fifth BRIFF

The fifth Brussels International Film Festival (BRIFF) came to a close this weekend after an exciting ten-day stint which heralded the return of a film celebration unhampered by Covid, kicking off with a sold-out screening of Michel Hazanavicius’ new movie Final Cut [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michel Hazanavicius
film profile
]
, and closing with an awards ceremony which paid tribute to films both diverse and well-received in equal measure.

Mexican director Michel Franco is a familiar face on the festival circuit, to put it mildly. Honoured three times in Cannes and awarded the Grand Prize in Venice in 2020 on account of New Order [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, the filmmaker returned this year to offer up Sundown [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, which was presented at the Venice Film Festival back in September and has now taken part in BRIFF’s International Competition, winning Franco the section’s Grand Prize courtesy of a jury composed of Catherine Jacob, Samuel Benchetrit, Joahannes Bac Kuhnke, Wim Willaert and Claire Bodson. The Jury Prize went to Kamila Andini’s Indonesian movie Nana.

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The festival also played host to a Director’s Week where Will-o'-the-Wisp [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: João Pedro Rodrigues
film profile
]
, a self-proclaimed musical fantasy by Portugal’s João Pedro Rodriguez, walked away with the Grand Prize. This sprightly story about a young prince come apprentice fire fighter perturbed by the pleasures of the flesh offered up to him in the barracks where he lives, won over the jury, as did Italian movie The Hole [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michelangelo Frammartino
film profile
]
by Michelangelo Frammartino, which won the Jury Prize - having previously scooped Venice’s Special Jury Prize - and Bianca Stigter’s Dutch documentary Three Minutes - A Lengthening [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bianca Stigter
film profile
]
, which earned itself a Special Mention, as well as later nabbing the European Young Jury Award. In other news, Hungarian film Gentle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Csuja and Anna Nemes
film profile
]
by Anna Eszter Nemes and László Csuja bagged the Audience Award in addition to the press’s Fipresci Award, which was handed out at this year’s BRIFF Awards for the very first time.

Intent on foregrounding a new generation of Belgian filmmakers, BRIFF also offers up a National Competition, which included numerous first and second films on this occasion. This was notably the case for Austral [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
, Benjamin Colaux’s second film which is a visually breath-taking and incredibly moving documentary about the day-to-day life of long-distance sailors in southern Chile. The film also won the award for Best Editing, as decided upon by a jury of professionals, courtesy of Yannick Leroy. Another documentary found itself on the receiving end of the jury’s praises: Une bosse dans le Coeur, which is the first feature film by Noé Reutenauer, bagged the Jury Prize, but it also bowled over the public and earned itself an Audience Award. Last but not least, acting prizes were won by the two lead actors in Manuel Poutte’s feature film Sous Contrôle: Martin Swabey (seen in Suite Française [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile
]
, Mr. Nobody [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaco Van Dormael
interview: Jaco Van Dormael
film profile
]
, Sentinelles and Little Glory [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
) was handed the Best Actor award, while Camille de Leu (who’s also a director, to whom we notably owe the wonderful short film Novembre) walked away with Best Actress.

Finally, the RTBF Award went to French film 15 Ways to Kill Your Neighbour [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Santiago Mitre, while the BeTV trophy went to Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s The Beasts [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Isabe…
film profile
]
.

The full list of winners is as follows:

International Competition

Grand Prize
Sundown [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Michel Franco (Mexico/France/Sweden)

Jury Prize
Nana - Kamila Andini (Indonesia)

Director’s Week

Grand Prize
Will-o'-the-Wisp [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: João Pedro Rodrigues
film profile
]
- João Pedro Rodriguez (Portugal/France)

Jury Prize
The Hole [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michelangelo Frammartino
film profile
]
- Michelangelo Frammartino (Italy/France/Germany)

Special Mention
Three Minutes - A Lengthening [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bianca Stigter
film profile
]
- Bianca Stigter (Holland)

Audience Award
Gentle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Csuja and Anna Nemes
film profile
]
- Anna Eszter Nemes and László Csuja (Hungary)

Fipresci Award
Gentle - Anna Eszter Nemes and László Csuja

European Young Jury Award
Three Minutes - A Lengthening - Bianca Stigter

National Competition

Grand Prize
Austral [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
- Benjamin Colaux (Belgium/France)

Jury Prize
Une bosse dans le coeur - Noé Reutenauer (Belgium)

Best Actress
Camille de Leu - Sous contrôle (Belgium)

Best Actor
Martin Swabey - Sous contrôle

Audience Award
Une bosse dans le coeur - Noé Reutenauer

Best Editing
Yannick Leroy - Austral

Other awards

RTBF Prize
15 Ways to Kill Your Neighbour [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Santiago Mitre (France/Argentina/Belgium/Spain)

BeTV Prize
The Beasts [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Isabe…
film profile
]
 - Rodrigo Sorogoyen (Spain/France)

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(Translated from French)

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