30/01/2017 - The British filmmaker has come out on top in Biarritz with the fiction title NW, while the Algerian director did likewise with his documentary Investigating Paradise

The winners of the 30th International Festival of Audiovisual Programmes (© Agence.Photomobile)

Just before coming to a close in Biarritz on Saturday, the 30th International Festival of Audiovisual Programmes handed out its traditional FIPA d'Or Awards within its six competitive sections, and this year, portraits of women received a particularly warm welcome from the various expert juries, as well as from the audiences, as the Audience Award was bestowed upon Latifa, une femme dans la république by Jarmila Buzkova, presented out of competition in the Panorama of Creation.

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In the Drama category, British productions garnered three awards. Victory was claimed by NW by Saul Dibb, a 90-minute title produced by Mammoth Screen. The screenplay, penned by Rachel Bennette, centres on two women who grew up together in North-West London, before their lives branched off in different directions. But in an area where wealth and poverty rub shoulders, they are just about to discover that life is very fragile... We should also point out the two awards pocketed by another British production, National Treasure by Marc Munden (4x48 minutes), singled out for its screenplay (Jack Thorne) and its score (Cristobal Tapia de Veer). Also of note is the Best Actress Award scooped by French performer Alba Gaia Bellugi for Manon 20 ans by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade (3x52 minutes).

The Series competition, in which the Chilean production Ramona came out on top, also smiled upon Europe: Belgium tasted victory through the Best Actor Award (Matteo Simoni, Rik Verheye, Bart Hollanders and Stef Aerts for Callboys), while France was crowned for Best Screenplay (Aurélien Molas, Valentine Milville and José Caltagirone for Crime Time - Hora de Perigo) and Best Score (Thomas Couzinier and Frédéric Kooshmanian for Zone blanche).

Merzak Allouache scooped the FIPA d'Or for Creative Documentary with Investigating Paradise [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which follows a young journalist in Algeria as she undertakes an investigation into the concept of paradise presented by Salafist preachers in the Maghreb and the Middle East, where their online videos serve only to spread their extremist propaganda and calls to the jihad. Interestingly, the jury handed a Special Mention to Spaniard Pau Faus for Alcaldesa (about Ada Calau’s successful election campaign in Barcelona).

The FIPA d'Or in the Reportage and Investigation section went to Ambulance by Mohamed Jabaly (co-produced by Norway and Palestine), while the Music and Performing Arts programme crowned Currentzis. The Classical Rebel by Austria’s Christian Berger. Finally, Smart FIPA opted for Zero Impunity [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Nicolas Blies, Stéphane Hueber-Blies and Marion Guth.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Drama

FIPA d'Or
NW - Saul Dibb (UK)

FIPA d'Or for Best Actress 
Alba Gaia Bellugi - Manon 20 ans (France)

FIPA d'Or for Best Actor 
Elias Anton - Barracuda (Australia)

FIPA d'Or for Best Screenplay 
Jack Thorne - National Treasure (UK)

FIPA d'Or for Best Original Score 
Cristobal Tapia de Veer - National Treasure (UK)

Series

FIPA d'Or
Ramona - Guillermo Calderón, Carmen Gloria López and Patricio Pereira (Chile)

FIPA d'Or for Best Actress
Gianina Frutero - Ramona (Chile)

FIPA d'Or for Best Actor 
Matteo Simoni, Rik Verheye, Bart Hollanders and Stef Aerts - Callboys (Belgium)

FIPA d'Or for Best Screenplay 
Aurélien Molas, Valentine Milville and José Caltagirone - Crime Time - Hora de Perigo (France)

FIPA d'Or for Best Original Score 
Thomas Couzinier and Frédéric Kooshmanian - Zone blanche (France)

Creative Documentary

FIPA d'Or
Investigating Paradise [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Merzak Allouache (Algeria/France)

Special Mention 
Alcaldesa - Pau Faus (Spain)

Reportage and Investigation

FIPA d'Or
Ambulance - Mohamed Jabaly (Norway/Palestine)

Music and Performing Arts 

FIPA d'Or
Currentzis. The Classical Rebel - Christian Berger (Austria)

Smart FIPA

FIPA d'Or
Zero Impunity - Nicolas Blies, Stéphane Hueber-Blies and Marion Guth (Luxembourg/France)

Smart FIPA Hackathon Prize 
Aquaterra – developed by the Cachalot team, comprising: Roland Dargelez, Frédéric Fréaud, Samuel Lepoil and Anne Sellès

Michel Mitrani Award (New Talent section)
Sve je više jtvari koje dolaze - Jelena Gavrilović (Serbia)

Erasmus+ Prize (New Talent section)
Polski - Rubén Rojas Cuauhtémoc (Cuba) 

Young Europeans Jury Award (Reportage and Investigation category)
Ambulance - Mohamed Jabaly (Norway/Palestine)

EuroFIPA d'honneur 
Hanka Kastelicová (Czech Republic)

Télérama Prize 2017 (Creative Documentary section)
Investigating Paradise - Merzak Allouache (Algeria/France)

Audience Award
Latifa, une femme dans la république - Jarmila Buzkova (France)

(Translated from French)