The tremendously topical Swiss film Neighbours [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] 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.

(L'articolo continua qui sotto - Inf. pubblicitaria)

Staying in the region of Kurdistan, though on the Iraqi side this time, The Exam [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Shawkat Amin Korki
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Stefan Arsenijević
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Christophe Hermans
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Darragh Carey, Bertrand De…
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film], 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 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Mano Khalil (Switzerland/France)

Jury Award
The Exam [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Shawkat Amin Korki
scheda film] - Shawkat Amin Korki (Germany/Iraq/Qatar)

Best Screenplay
As Far As I Can Walk [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Stefan Arsenijević
scheda film] - Stefan Arsenijevic (Serbia/France/Luxembourg/Bulgaria/Lithuania)

Best Acting Performance
Sophie Breyer – The Hive [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Christophe Hermans
scheda film] (Belgium/France)

City of Mons Audience Award
Rose [+leggi anche:
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trailer
scheda film] - Aurélie Saada (France)

Cineuropa Award
A Brixton Tale [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Darragh Carey, Bertrand De…
scheda film] - 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jean-Christophe Meurisse
scheda film] - Jean-Christophe Meurisse (France)

RTBF Award
Vortex [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Jean-Christophe Meurisse
scheda film] - 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)