30/01/2017 - The film by Iceland’s Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson has won the Grand Prix and the Audience Award; audiences in Angers also awarded Step by Step

At the 29th Premiers Plans Festival, victory has been claimed by Heartstone [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
film profile] by Icelandic director Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson, which pulled off a staggering double win, pocketing both the Grand Prix (handed out by a jury chaired by French actor Lambert Wilson) and the Audience Award. Revealed in the Venice Days and screened at Toronto, the Icelandic-Danish co-production, which revolves around two teenagers going through the difficult transition to adulthood, had already won awards at Warsaw, Lübeck, Thessaloniki, Copenhagen and Tromso. Its international sales are handled by German sales agent Films Boutique.

The Best Actress and Actor Awards singled out two performers from the same film: Margarita Breitkreiz and Georg Friedrich for Marija [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Koch
film profile] by Swiss director Michael Koch. Unveiled in competition at Locarno and also screened at Toronto, the film produced by Germany and Switzerland is being sold overseas by French company Luxbox. 

In the competition section dedicated to French feature debuts, the Audience Award crowned the tremendous Step by Step [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by duo Grand Corps Malade and Mehdi Idir, which has been bringing the house down wherever it has been premiered, ahead of its French theatrical release via Gaumont on 1 March. The Jean-Claude Brialy Award went to Paris la blanche [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lidia Terki
film profile] by Lidia Leber Terki (a surprise hit at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, which will be released in France on 29 March by ARP Sélection).

As for the short films, the Ukrainian-Iranian co-production Posle by Hanna Jalili went home with the Grand Jury Prize in the European competition, while the audience singled out the British film Jacked by Rene Pannevis. Chasse royale by duo Lisa Akola and Romane Guéret won over the jury in the section for French shorts, whereas the viewers plumped for L’âge des sirènes by Héloïse Pelloquet. Lastly, the Hungarian movie Balkon by Dagid Dell’Edera proved a hit with the jury of the animated shorts programme, while the competition for titles from European film schools saw victory for Russia, with Fedor’s Journey Through Moscow at the Turn of the XXI Century by Aksinya Gog.

Here is the complete list of winners:

European feature debuts

Grand Jury Prize
Heartstone [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
film profile] - Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson (Iceland/Denmark)

Audience Award
Heartstone - Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson 

French feature debuts

Audience Award
Step by Step [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Grand Corps Malade and Mehdi Idir (France)

Jean-Claude Brialy Award
Paris la blanche [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lidia Terki
film profile] - Lidia Leber Terki (France)

CCAS Award
A Taste of Ink [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Morgan Simon
film profile] - Morgan Simon (France)

European debut short films

Grand Jury Prize
Posle - Hanna Jalili (Ukraine/Iran)

Audience Award
Jacked - Rene Pannevis (UK)

French debut short films

Grand Jury Prize
Chasse royale - Lisa Akola and Romane Guéret

Audience Award
L’âge des sirènes - Héloïse Pelloquet

Librarians’ Award for a French short film
Koropa - Laura Henno

European debut animated short films (“Plans animés”)

Grand Jury Prize
Balkon - Dagid Dell’Edera (Hungary) 

Special Mention
Ayny - Ahmas Saleh (Germany)

Short Format Award
La table - Eugène Boitsov (France)

European film-school titles

Grand Jury Prize
Fedor’s Journey Through Moscow at the Turn of the XXI Century - Aksinya Gog (Russia)

Audience Award
Cieplo-Zimmo - Marta Prus (Poland)

Arte Award
I Made You, I Kill You - Alexandru Petru Badelita (France)

Angers Students’ Award
Fedor’s Journey Through Moscow at the Turn of the XXI Century - Aksinya Gog

Musical Creation Award – Short Film
Simon Halsberghe for Kitten Instinct by Liesbeth Eeckman (Belgium) 

Best Actress Award – French Short Film
Camille Goudeau - Blind sex by Sarah Santamaria-Mertens (France)

Jury Special Mention
Tatiana Iekel in Toate fluviile curg in mare by Alexandru Badea (Romania)

Best Actor Award – French Short Film
Eddhy Dupont in Chasse royale by Lisa Akola and Romane Guéret (France)

Jury Special Mention
Mattis Durand in L’âge des sirènes - Héloïse Pelloquet (France) 

Screenplay readings

Audience Award for a First Feature Screenplay
Petite sauvage - Emma Benestan

Fondation Visio Award for a First Feature Screenplay
P.E.A.R.L. [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elsa Amiel
film profile] - Elsa Amiel

Audience Award for a First Short Screenplay
FC Zagora - Yves Piat

Saftas/Erasmus Award for a European Feature
Heartstone - Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson

(Translated from French)