The tremendously topical Swiss film Neighbours [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by the Syrian director of Kurdish origin Mano Khalil has scooped the 37th Mons International Film Festival’s Grand Prize The movie charts the absurdity of the threat of war as seen through the eyes of a young six-year-old child living on the Syrian-Turkish border at the beginning of the 80s, who witnesses the rise of nationalism, which leads to a very sombre period and a bloody dictatorship. The film also earned itself the Citizen’s Outlook Award.

Staying in the region of Kurdistan, though on the Iraqi side this time, The Exam [+lee también:
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entrevista: Shawkat Amin Korki
ficha de la película] by Iraqi filmmaker Shawkat Amin Korki did itself proud, previously winning the FIPRESCI Prize in Karlovy Vary and the recipient of Mons’ Jury Prize this weekend. The Best Screenplay Award, meanwhile, went to As Far As I Can Walk [+lee también:
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entrevista: Stefan Arsenijević
ficha de la película] by Serbia’s Stefan Arsenijević, which was also discovered in Karlovy Vary and is yet another film wrestling with current affairs, following the road walked by a Ghanaian migrant who’s herded into various refugee camps in Belgrade after trying to cross the border into the European Union.

The last award handed out by the jury, the Best Performance Prize, was won by young Belgian actress Sophie Breyer for her part in The Hive [+lee también:
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entrevista: Christophe Hermans
ficha de la película] by Christophe Hermans.

Cineuropa also played an active role in these awards by way of the Cineuropa Award, which was bestowed upon A Brixton Tale [+lee también:
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entrevista: Darragh Carey, Bertrand De…
ficha de la película] by Darragh Carey and Bertrand Desrochers, and which tells a dramatic love story between a young, white, middle-class YouTuber and a young black man from a working class neighbourhood who’s the focus of her videos.

Last but not least, Rose [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], which is the first feature film by French director Aurélie Saada, won two very similar awards: the City of Mons Audience Award and the French-Speaking Audience Award, the latter of which was handed out by TV5 Monde.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Grand Prize
Neighbours [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] - Mano Khalil (Switzerland/France)

Jury Award
The Exam [+lee también:
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entrevista: Shawkat Amin Korki
ficha de la película] - Shawkat Amin Korki (Germany/Iraq/Qatar)

Best Screenplay
As Far As I Can Walk [+lee también:
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entrevista: Stefan Arsenijević
ficha de la película] - Stefan Arsenijevic (Serbia/France/Luxembourg/Bulgaria/Lithuania)

Best Acting Performance
Sophie Breyer – The Hive [+lee también:
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entrevista: Christophe Hermans
ficha de la película] (Belgium/France)

City of Mons Audience Award
Rose [+lee también:
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tráiler
ficha de la película] - Aurélie Saada (France)

Cineuropa Award
A Brixton Tale [+lee también:
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tráiler
entrevista: Darragh Carey, Bertrand De…
ficha de la película] - Darragh Carey and Bertrand Desrochers (UK/Germany)

Citizen’s Outlook Award
Neighbours - Mano Khalil

Compétition des 400 Coups (Hard Hitters Competition) - Belgian Jury Award
Nuestros días más felices - Sol Berruezo Pichon-Rivière (Argentina)
Special Mention
Bloody Oranges [+lee también:
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entrevista: Jean-Christophe Meurisse
ficha de la película] - Jean-Christophe Meurisse (France)

RTBF Award
Vortex [+lee también:
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entrevista: Jean-Christophe Meurisse
ficha de la película] - Gaspard Noé (France/Belgium/Monaco)

TV5 Monde French-Speaking Audience Award
Rose - Aurélie Saada

Short Films Jury Prize
Nuits sans sommeil - Jérémy Van Der Haegen (Belgium)

Belgian Press Award for Best Belgian Short
Ligie - Aline Magrez (Belgium)