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Award Winners 2012
NEVER TOO LATE by Ido Fluk wins „Regard d’or“ 2012
Israeli-born director Ido Fluk‘s film debut was an International Premiere at FIFF. Brazilian director Julia Murat won a total of four awards for her first full-length feature film HISTORIAS QUE SO EXISTEM QUANDO LEMBRADAS, including the highly endowed Talent Tape Award. The Egyptian film ASMAA by Amr Salama is the winner of this year’s Audience Award.
NEVER TOO LATE, winner of the Grand Prize „Regard d’or“ 2012, is a touching story of a personal quest: A young man by the name of Hertzel comes back to Israel broke after years abroad and finds work hanging advertising posters. He drives across the country from north to south in his deceased father’s old Volvo until his journey brings him face to face with himself. The award “Regard d’or” is endowed with 30'000 Swiss Francs. The Special Jury Award, worth CHF 10’000 goes to THE LAST FRIDAY by Yahya Al-Abdallah, a co-production between Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
The Talent Tape Award worth 19'000 CHF was awarded to the producers of HISTORI-AS QUE SO EXISTEM QUANDO LEMBRADAS, a co-production between Brazil, Argen-tina and France. The film by director Julia Murat also wins the Ex-Change Award (Youth Jury), the Don Quijote Award of the International Federation of the Film Socie-ties (FICC Award) as well as the Ecumenical Jury Award. Taiwanese film HONEY PUPU received a special mention by the International Jury, while the film ASMAA by Amr Salama (Egypt) won the audience award. The Interna-tional Federation of the Cinematographic Press FIPRESCI awarded the South Korean director Huh Jong-ho for his film COUNTDOWN.
The 26th edition of the FIFF, the first under the artistic direction of Thierry Jobin, rec-orded steady audience numbers: around 30’000 spectators as well as filmmakers from all over the world found their way to Fribourg. Panel discussions, evening events and a masterclass with Ivan Passer also generated interest. Thanks to very successful screenings at local schools and video workshops for multimedia students the festival keeps in touch with future festival generations.
The 27th edition of the Fribourg International Film Festival takes place from March 16 – 24, 2012.
Closing Ceremony
The last competition screening is taking place this afternoon, the International Jury will award the Regard d'or of the 26th edition in the early evening!
This year’s competition was characterised by exciting content from the most varied corners of the world. In In the Open, Argentinean director Hernán Belón recounts how inexplicable events gradually corrode the harmony of a young couple. The first film of Brazilian director Julia Murat, Histórias Que Só Existem Quando Lembradas, tracked unusual phenomena in a desolate village in the backcountry of Brazil. In stark contrast, Honey PuPu, by Taiwanese director Chen Hung-I, was a poetic science fiction drama that has already created a furore on the festival circuit and received numerous prizes.
Other films dealt with burning social issues. Egyptian director Amr Salama, recently celebrated as the best Arab film-maker at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, was represented in competition with Asmaa, a dramatic film about AIDS. In the Jordanian film The Last Friday by Yahya Al-Abdallah, the absurdity of the everyday existence of a taxi-driver in Amman unfolds. Avie Luthra revealed his great storytelling skill with his film Lucky, describing a tender friendship between a boy and an Indian grandmother.
Israeli director Ido Fluk, whose experimental film has been screened in previous years at the Festival, returned to Fribourg with the international premiere of his first full-length feature film Never Too Late, an enlightening look at the state of Israeli society. The Filipino entry, Fable of the Fish by Adolfo Borinaga Alix Jr., described the everyday life of destitute people in Manila with magical realism and the precision of a documentary. Wang Xiaoshuai from China, a darling of the festival circuit who has won numerous international awards, was present in competition with 11 Flowers whilst South Korean Huh Jong-ho’s film Countdown, about a femme fatale, added a gripping thriller to the programme. In an intimate manner, Iranian director Mania Akbari unveiled the interwoven relationships between various characters in her film One.Two.One. Last but not least, the film The Last Christeros by Mexican director Matías Meyer looked back on a decisive moment in Mexican history, the resistance of the Cristiada Cristeros at the beginning of the 20th century.
May the best win!
International Competition: Films presented by directors/producers
Today three films of the international competition are presented by their respective directors:
- One.
Two. One, 12h au Cap’Ciné5 in presence of the director Mania Akbari
- Countdown, 12h15 CapCiné1
in presence of the director Hung-Jong-ho
- The
Last Friday, 12h45 au CapCiné7 in presence of the director Yahya Al-Abdallah
Closing film
This year's closing ceremony takes place today, March 31 at 5pm in the presence of the filmmaker of the International Competition. The closing film, Miss Bala by Gerardo Naranjo (Mexico, USA, 2010), is also screened as Swiss premiere.
Focus Day: Genre Cinema
Friday, 30th march is highlighting the parallel section Genre Cinema. This programme section is devoted each year to a specific film genre and explores the ways that it is adapted all over the world. The starting gun will usher today in the Western – with Soviet, South African, Brazilian, Mexican or Indian origins. Screenings start at noon with Touche pas à la femme blanche, Mountain Patrol and the Kurosawa classic Rashomon as well as O Cangaceiro by Lima Barreto. In the evening, the international premiere of The Zebra by Fernando Léon will be followed by a panel discussion about the universality of the filmgenre itself and its adaption by filmmakers from different countries.
Today's films
Films in this section
Carte blanche to the Festival del film Locarno and a Masterclass with Ivan Passer
The FIFF’s Carte Blanche has become a traditional invitation to a Swiss festival to present a selected film at the FIFF. This year, Olivier Père, artistic director of the Festival del Film Locarno, has selected one of his favourite films, Cutter’s Way (1981). This American masterpiece by Ivan Passer, a filmmaker of Czech origin, is a gripping “whodunit” built on the devastation of the Vietnam War, which painfully probes the dark recesses of arrogance in western culture. The day after the screening of Cutter’s Way which the director will attend, Ivan Passer will talk about his films and his remarkable trajectory.
Carte blanche to the Festival del film Locarno
Masterclass with Ivan Passer
Focus Day: Decryption
Thursday, 29th March is highlighting the parallel section Decryption which features films with powerful messages on how Islam is portrayed in the West. The screenings start at noon with Dernier Maquis by Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche and continue in the afternoon with Ici on noie les Algériens by Yasmina Adi. In the evening, after the screening of La Désintégration by Philippe Faucon, FIFF invites you to a thoughtful debate on the history of the way Islam is represented in the Western world.
Today's films
Films in this section
International Competition: Films presented by directors/producers
Today five films of the international competition are presented by their respective directors:
- Fable of
the Fish, 13h Rex1 in presence of the director Adolfo Borinaga Alix Jr
- Asmaa, 15h Cap'Ciné6 in presence of the director Amr Salama.
- In The Open, 17h Rex1 in presence of the director Hernán Belón
- Never Too Late, 19h Cap'Ciné6 in presence of the director Ido Fluk
- Countdown, 21h Rex1 in presence of the director Hung-Jong-ho
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Focus-Day: Sur la carte de Georges Schwizgebel
Wednesday, 28th March is highlighting the parallel section Sur la carte de...Screenings include the two short film programmes curated by Georges Schwizgebel: Short Films about the South and the East and Short Films from the South and the East. The master of Swiss animated cartoons film Romance will be shown together with Tatsumi by Eric Khoo. The latter is a well-known figure at FIFF: He won the Regard d'Or in 2009 with his film My Magic. Schwizgebel himself has just been awarded the Canadian "Oscar" for Best Animated Short Film in Toronto.
Films of the day
The Films in this Section
New Gig on Friday
Aad Hollander Trio from Hell concert this friday, 30th March | 23.00 had to be cancelled. The band will be replaced by Menic and His Deep Roots Musicband, which will present their new album Railroad Blues Anthology. FIFF and Bad Bonn are happy to have found such a strong replacement with Menic - their music is rooted in the musical traditions around the Northern Atlantic and the deep blues.
Focus Day Diaspora: Patrick Chappatte and Lebanon
Tuesday, 27th March is highlighting the parallel section Diaspora for which a Swiss celebrity selects film favourites from his community of origin. This year, Patrick Chappatte, political cartoonist, opens the programme section with a film perspective on Lebanon. His short animated documentary La mort est dans le champ will be shown tonight together with Scent of an Angel by Khalil Dreifus Zaarour. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Patrick Chappatte himself. Other films featured in the section include Waltz with Bashir, Et maintenant on va où? and Caramel.
Today's films
The films in this section
Focus Day Passeport Suisse
Monday, 26th March is devoted to the parallel section Passeport Suisse. Highlights are the Swiss documentaries China unmasked. 20'000 km through China from 1936 and the Swiss Romande premiere of Balkan Melodie. The screening of the latter will be followed by a panel discussion including the director of Balkan Melodie, Stefan Schwietert.
Today's films
Films of this section
President of the International Jury
The Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi is the president of the International Jury of the 26th International Film Festival Fribourg! Born in Teheran, Sepideh Farsi studied Mathematics in Paris before shifting her interest to photography and film. She directed several short films as well as documentaries, amongst others Harat (2007) and Teheran Without Permisson (2009). In 2011 she participated at FIFF‘s International Competition with her film The House under the Water.
Bangladesh Day at FIFF
On Sunday 25th March, the programme is devoted to the parallel section Terra Incognita. The voyage of discovery will begin with Bangladesh. Screenings start at noon with Meherjaan and continue in the afternoon with On the Wings of Dreams in presence of its director Golam Rabbany Biplob, member of the International Jury. In the evening, the screening of Runway at 8.30pm at Cap Ciné 1 will be followed by a panel featuring bangladeshi filmmakers discussing the state of their film industry and the challenges they meet. Last but not least, an exhibition of the bangladeshi photographer G.M.B. Akash can now be seen at the Art Buvette.
Today's films
The films of the parallel section
The festival has started!
The Festival kicks off at noon with the western Blackthorn which has only just been awarded several Goyas in Spain. From midday onwards, Fribourg will be under the sign of cinema – over 100 films from 47 different countries will be shown during the week. Buy your tickets now on www.starticket.ch, at one of our point of sales or directly at the Festival Centre. This evening, the opening ceremony will take place in the presence of Swiss federal councillor Alain Berset. The opening film Salt by Diego Rougier (Chile, Argentina, 2011) offers a foretaste of the programme section Genre cinema: Once Upon a Time in the South. Diego Rougier will personally attend the Swiss premiere of his film together with the producer and actress Javiera Contador.
Kick off tomorrow!
Excitement builds up: only few days left until the 26th International Film Festival Fribourg is opening its doors! Tickets sales are reaching new heights, the last film rolls are being tested as we speak and the staff is moving to his new headquarter at the Festival Center Ancienne Gare. Last but not least, the first guests are stepping out of the plane and heading - direction Fribourg!
Good luck, Stefan Schwietert!
Balkan Melodie by Stefan Schwietert is nominated for the Quartz of the best Swiss documentary 2011, to be awarded on March 17, in Lucerne. After distinctions in 2005 and 2008 for Accordion Tribe and Heimatklänge, Stefan Schwietert proves again his outstanding talent. May the best one win!
The premiere of the Balkan Melodie in French speaking Switzerland takes place on March 26 at the FIFF. It is accompanied by a panel discussion hosted by Patrick Ferla in which Stefan Schwietert, Pierre-Yves Borgeaud, Daniel Schweizer, Pierre Adrian Irlé, Jean Théo Aeby and Eileen Hofer participate.
Once upon a time...
On moncinema.ch, the new kings of western are showing their shorts. High noon for your vote!
The complete programme of the 26th Festival edition
Twelve films are in the running this year for the Regard d’Or, our top award, which carries a prize of CHF 30,000. For the competition, current productions were selected from the FIFF’s traditional focal points, namely Latin America, Asia and Africa. In addition, the Near East and Middle East are represented, with films from Jordan, Egypt and Iran. Many filmmakers will be in attendance in Fribourg to present their work. Only Swiss and international premieres will be screened in competition. Tickets are sold via Starticket.
The Festival features films that are seldom picked up by the mainstream criteria for film distribution. This year’s competition is characterised by exciting content from the most varied corners of the world. In In the Open, Argentinean director Hernán Belón recounts how inexplicable events gradually corrode the harmony of a young couple. The first film of Brazilian director Julia Murat, Historias Que So Existem Quando Lembradas, tracks unusual phenomena in a desolate village in the backcountry of Brazil. In stark contrast, Honey PuPu, by Taiwanese director Chen Hung-I, is a poetic science fiction drama that has created a furore on the festival circuit and received numerous prizes.
Major fiction films
Other films deal
with burning social issues. Egyptian director Amr Salama, recently celebrated
as the best Arab film-maker at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, is represented in competition
with Asmaa, a dramatic film about AIDS. In the Jordanian film The Last Friday by Yahya Al-Abdallah, the absurdity of the everyday existence of a taxi-driver
in Amman unfolds. Avie Luthra reveals his great storytelling skill with his
film Lucky, describing a tender friendship between a boy and an Indian
grandmother. Israeli director Ido Fluk, whose experimental film has been
screened in previous years at the Festival, will be returning to Fribourg. He
will present in competition his film Never Too Late, an enlightening look at
the state of Israeli society. The Filipino entry, Fable of the Fish by Adolfo
Borinaga Alix Jr., describes the everyday life of destitute people in Manila
with magical realism and the precision of a documentary.
Femmes Fatales in South Korea, a Mexican Western
Wang Xiaoshuai from
China, a darling of the festival circuit who has won numerous international
awards, will present 11 Flowers in competition, and the South Korean Huh Jong-ho’s
film Countdown, about a femme fatale,
adds a gripping thriller to the programme in Fribourg. In an intimate manner,
Iranian director Mania Akbari unveils the interwoven relationships between
various characters in her film One.Two.One.
The film The Last Christeros by Mexican director Matías Meyer looks back on a decisive moment in Mexican history, the resistance of the Cristiada Cristeros at the beginning of the 20th century.
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