Faouzi Bensaïdi and Maja Milos win at Brussels film fest
- After a busy week celebrating its tenth anniversary, the Brussels Film Festival has announced its winners, including Faouzi Bensaïdi and Maja Milos
The Brussels Film Festival ended last Saturday, after an intense week of screening films by emerging, confirmed, and cult filmmakers! The jury chose to give its top award, the Golden Iris Award, to Death for Sale [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Faouzi Bensaïdi
film profile] by Moroccan film director Faouzi Bensaïdi (see the interview), a co-production bringing together Belgium (Entre chien et loup), France (Une liaison cinématographique) and Marocco. Bensaïdi first made a name for himself at the beginning of the noughties with A Thousand Months. His third film, Death for Sale, is both a homage to gangster movies and a dive into the sociological heart of Morocco, in which the city of Tetouan is as much one of the main characters as the film’s three heroes. Death for Sale was also awarded the Cineuropa award.
The White Iris Award, awarded to the best first film in the competition, was awarded to Clip [+see also:
film review
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interview: Maja Milos
film profile], by Serbian woman filmmaker Maja Milos (see the interview). The film, that was already awarded in Rotterdam last January, moved both the jury and the audience. It depicts the worrying daily life of a young teenage girl, who is looking for love and who only lives through and for her body. The filmmaker shows many extremely explicit sex scenes, painting the portrait of hyper-sexualised, hyper-violent, and hyper-narcissistic Serbian youth. The film is visually, intellectually, and emotionally very shocking.
Other awards went to European films. The Audience Award went to Italy Love It or Leave It by Gustav Hofer and Luca Ragazzi (Italy), the Fedex Cinephile Award was handed to Kauwboy [+see also:
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film profile] by Boudewijn Koole (Netherlands), Best Screenplay went to Bloody Boys by Shaker K. Tahrer (Sweden), the RTBF Award for best film went to Quand je serai petit [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Jean-Paul Rouve (France), the BeTV Prize for best film went to
trailer
film profile] by Enrique Urbizu (Spain), and the Prime Prize for best film went to The Deep Blue Sea [+see also:
film review
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interview: Terence Davies
film profile] by Terence Davies (Great Britain).
(Translated from French)
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