Dario Albertini’s Manuel won three awards at the 39th Cinémed, the festival of Mediterranean cinema in Montpellier, which ended on October 28th.
Dario Albertini’s Manuel
The jury, chaired by French actress and director Aure Atika, awarded the Golden Antigone to this social drama directed by former documentary-maker Dario Albertini and produced by Bibi Films and Timvision. Manuel is Albertini’s first feature, and follows 18-year-old Manuel as he leaves the foster home where he has spent most of his life to fend for himself, proving to the court that he is capable of looking after his mother, in prison, so that her sentence can be commuted to house arrest. In addition to the Golden Antigone, Manuel has also received the Critics’ Prize and the Nova Prize.
Having won an award at the last Venice Film Festival, Sofia Djama’s Les Bienheureux continues to harvest the trophies by winning both the Jury Special Mention and the Student Prize for a first film.
In the documentary section, the Prix Ulysse went to Off frame ou la révolution jusqu’à la victoire, a Palestine-France-Qatar-Lebanon co-production directed by Mohanad Yaqubi. This 62-minute documentary shows how, in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the Palestinian people fought to create their own image of themselves by setting up the Palestinian Film Unit within the Palestine Liberation Organization.
The Moroccan-Qatari documentary House in the Fields by Tala Hadid won Special Mention. It describes the daily life of an isolated rural community in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains.
All the winners:
– Antigone d’Or: Manuel by Dario Albertini (Italy)
– Special Mention: Les Bienheureux by Sofia Djama (France / Belgium / Qatar)
– Critics’ Award: Manuel
– Public Award: Dede by Mariam Khatchvani (Georgia)
– Prix Nova: Manuel
– Student Award for first film: Les Bienheureux
– Young Audience Award: Wajib by Annemarie Jacir (Palestine)
– Best Music: Habib Shehadeh Hanna for Holy Air by Shady Srour (Israel)
– Best Short Film: Vilaine fille by Alyce Kartal (France / Turkey)
– Special Mentions: I am a Jew by Aharon Shem Tov and Niv Hachlili (Israel) and Retour à Genoa City by Benoît Grimalt (France)
– Audience Award (short): Retour à Genoa City
– Young Audience Award (short): MAD by Sophie Tavert (France)
– Canal Plus Award: Quinze by Sameh Morsy (Egypt)
– Prix Ulysse (documentary): Off frame ou la révolution jusqu’à la victoire by Mohanad Yaqubi (Palestine / France / Qatar / Lebanon)
– Special Mention: House in the fields by Tala Hadid (Morocco / Qatar)
