26/11/2015 - Esther Gould’s A Strange Love Affair with Ego wins the Best Dutch Documentary Award

Don Juan [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Polish-Swedish director Jerzy Śladkowski was awarded Best Feature-Length Documentary yesterday at the 28^th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). The €12,500 prize singled out this film following a 22-year-old man suffering from autism as well as his mother’s attempts to enable him to live a normal life.

Don Juan brought the Polish-born, Swedish-based Śladkowski back to Russia, where he had previously shot Vodka Factory in 2010, about the lives of female factory workers.

Produced by Ginestra Film, Don Juan’s international rights have been acquired by Paris-based sales agent CAT&Docs.

The IDFA Special Jury Award (worth €2,500) went to Ukrainian Sheriffs [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a co-production between Ukraine, Latvia and Germany directed by Roman Bondarchuk.

The Best Dutch Documentary Award (€7,500) went to A Strange Love Affair with Ego by Esther Gould. The movie follows a number of seemingly successful people reflecting on the level of self-confidence they display. 

The Special Jury Award for a Dutch Documentary (€2,500) went to Tom Fassaert’s A Family Affair [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tom Fassaert
film profile]. The opening film of the gathering is a portrait of the director’s 95-year-old grandmother, a woman who was once described in a 1950s magazine as a “model and perfect mother” – although closer relatives do not seem to agree with this.

Although most of the IDFA’s prizes have already been unveiled (click here to see the full list), the festival is still showcasing films until Sunday 29 November. The IDFA Audience Award and the IDFA Music Audience Award are still to be announced.