Women and Latin America win big at FIFF 2019
The Good Girls by Mexican director Alejandra Márquez Abella won the Grand Prix of the Fribourg International Film Festival, which is endowed with a cash prize of CHF 30,000 courtesy of the City and Canton of Fribourg. According to the International Competition jury, the film was “creatively inspiring, with a complex storytelling”. In its closing remarks, the jury also applauded “the outstanding cinematographic quality and diversity of the films in competition, which hail from countries whose films are rarely shown in Europe.” The Special Jury Award went to Compañeros – La noche de 12 años, a feature film by Uruguayan director Álvaro Brechner, described as “a tribute to political prisoners and those who fight against human brutality”. It is set for release in cinemas across Western Switzerland and France on 27th March 2019.
Latin America, and specifically Compañeros, once again came out top, both in the Audience Award and in the Ecumenical Jury Award – which also gave a special mention to Volcano by Ukrainian director Roman Bondarchuk.
As for the Critics’ Choice Award, the jury, which comprises members of the Swiss Film Journalists Association, unanimously voted for Dreamaway, a documentary by Marouan Omara and Johanna Domke which examines the fortunes of the once popular beach resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, which terrorist attacks have left all but deserted. The jury was impressed by the film’s originality, poetic visuals and humour. The Swiss Cinema Network Prize awarded Kado from Indonesian director Aditya Ahmad. And, finally, the winner of the Youth Jury Award COMUNDO was the feature film The Third Wife by Vietnamese director Ash Mayfair.
The Best International Short Film Award went to Indian director Payal Kapadia for her film And What Is the Summer Saying.
The Foreign Visa Prize, which is open to Swiss film schools, went to the short film Come un'eco by Anna Spacio, a student at the International Academy of Audiovisual Sciences (CISA) in Locarno. The jury, which is made up of members of the New Territory section – this year composed of producers and directors from the Caribbean – also gave a special mention to Lasse Linder for Bashkimi United.
Download the full list of winners
