Every year since 1981 URTI (Union Radiophonique et Télévisuelle Internationale) has organized the International Grand Prix for creative documentaries, to reward programmes from around the world and promote recent productions. The jury is made up of the heads of member countries’ public television companies, and since they come from such a broad cultural base they judge the films from different points of view.
For this 38th edition, four films won awards :
The Grand Prix :
Was won by the Senegalese film Poisson d’or, Poisson africain by Thomas Grand (60 min). It follows the daily lives of southern Senegalese living in the Casamance region, one of the last places in West Africa where traditional fishermen and migrant workers somehow make a living, despite increasing foreign competition.
The Silver Medal :
Went to the French documentary L’Europe au pied des murs by Nicolas Dupuis and Elsa Putelat (53 min). Co-produced by ViaOccitanie TV and EKLA Production, this feature-length documentary shows the constant flow of migrants and the measures taken by European states to stop them. Every country, from Spain to Norway, is closing its borders.
The Bronze Medal :
Was awarded to Branko Istvancic’s Croatian film Lessons in Humanity (53 min): on the evening of September 29th 1991 Croatian veterans, helped by medical personnel, managed save 300 patients of the Pakrac hospital which the Serbian army were threatening to destroy.
The Martine Filippi Discovery Prize :
Went to Han-Seok Kim’s Goodbye, My Girlhood (54 min) – a South Korean film describing the life of an ordinary schoolgirl from Ladakh, India, who leaves her home to become a monk.
Source :
Press release
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