22/05/2009

France triumphed in the 48th International Critics’ Week (SIC), which awarded its Grand Prize 2009 to Nassim Amaouche’s debut feature Farewell Gary [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (news).

Starring Jean-Pierre Bacri, Dominique Reymond, Yasmine Belmadi, Sabrina Ouazani and Mahmed Arezki, Goodbye Gary was produced by Les Films A4 for €3.1m. This included co-production support from StudioCanal and Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, as well as pre-sales from Canal + and Ciné Cinéma. StudioCanal will release the title domestically on July 22 and are handling international sales.

A hotbed of young talent, the Cannes Film Festival sidebar also honoured Belgium, with the SACD Prize going to Caroline Strubbe for Lost Persons Area [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (see news), while Sharham Alidi’s Iraqi film Whisper with the Wind picked up the ACID/CCAS Prize and the OFAJ/TV5 World (Very) Young Critics’ Award.

2009 award winners

Grand Prize:
Farewell Gary - Nassim Amaouche (France)

SACD Prize:
Lost Persons Area - Caroline Strubbe (Belgium)

ACID/CCAS Prize:
Whisper with the Wind - Sharham Alidi (Iraq)

OFAJ (Very) Young Critics’ Award:
Whisper with the Wind - Sharham Alidi (Iraq)

Canal+ Grand Prize for Best Short Film:
Seeds of the Fall - Patrick Eklund (Sweden)

Kodak Discovery Award for Best Short Film:
Logorama - François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy, Ludovic Houplain (H5) (France)

Regards Jeunes Award:
Whisper with the Wind - Sharham Alidi (Iraq)

(Translated from French)