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SHORTS France

Polish film Tremors wins the Grand Prix at the 40th Clermont-Ferrand

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- Dawid Bodzak has won the International Competition at the largest short-film festival in the world

Polish film Tremors wins the Grand Prix at the 40th Clermont-Ferrand
Tremors by Dawid Bodzak

Drzenia (Tremors), emanating from Poland’s National Film and Television School in Lodz, has won the Grand Prix at the 2018 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. An examination of teenage angst and the relentless energy of youth, the film flirts with both realism and the dreamlike to create an atmospheric piece of work.

Speaking to Cineuropa, director Dawid Bodzak said: “I was very surprised when we got the award; I didn’t expect it at all. It was the world premiere of the film and also the first public screening of any of our films, outside of the school. We had a chance to talk about the movie with people from other countries, and it was amazing that people here were going really deep into the cinematic codes hidden in the films. It gives us a lot of energy for our future works.”

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In the festival’s National Competition, the Grand Prix winner was the animation Kötü Kiz (Wicked Girl), a French-Turkish co-production directed by Ayce Kartal. The film follows an eight-year-old Turkish girl with an overactive imagination.

France also celebrated a win in the festival’s Labo section, dedicated to experimental works, as the experimental documentary Retour (Return), directed by Pang-Chuan Huang, came out on top. The film follows forgotten memories over various epochs.

Speaking to Cineuropa, Pang-Chuan Huang said: “It’s a really good experience to be at the festival, not only to win this prize, but more importantly to get to know so many amazing people like you over these few days. This film is a journey of memory that tries to reflect the feelings of an individual who had been exiled during a time of huge historical importance.”

The festival also put forward a nominee for the 2018 European Film Awards, Sram (directed by Petar Krumov, from Bulgaria), the story of a boy who must choose between the love of his life and his mother.

Here is the list of the main winners:

International Awards

Grand Prix
Drzenia – Dawid Bodzak (Poland)

Special Jury Prize 
Skuggdjur – Jerry Carlsson (Sweden)

Canal+ Prize
Skuggdjur – Jerry Carlsson

Audience Prize
Bonobo – Zoel Aeschbacher (Switzerland)

Fernand Raynaud Award for Best Comedy
État d'alerte sa mère – Sébastien Petretti (Belgium)

Lab Awards

Grand Prix
Retour – Pang-Chuan Huang (France)

Special Jury Prize
Everything – David O'Reilly (USA/Ireland)

Audience Prize
Black America Again – Bradford Young (USA)

Canal+ Prize
Rebirth Is Necessary – Jenn Nkiru (UK)

National Awards

Grand Prix
Kötü Kiz - Ayce Kartal (France/Turkey)

Special Jury Prize
Vihta – François Bierry (France/Belgium)

Audience Prize/Special Mention of the National Press Jury
Les Indes Galantes – Clément Cogitore (France)

Canal+ Prize
Little Jaffna – Lawrence Valin (France)

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