25/10/2016 - The Spanish-Argentinian co-production was crowned Best Film in a competition where European titles roundly triumphed

The 32nd Haifa International Film Festival was held last week and announced its list of winners yesterday. The event hosted a broad audience consisting of cinema and media professionals from Israel and abroad, and held feature competitions, screenings, talks, meetings with professionals, industry events, master classes, exhibitions and outdoor activities (read the news). Many European titles were showcased and triumphed across all of the festival’s categories (read the news).

In the Israeli Feature Films Competition, the Danny Lerner Award for a Debut Feature Film was awarded to the co-production between Israel and France In Between [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maysaloun Hamoud
film profile] by Maysaloun Hamoud, which also received the Fedeora Award for Artistic Achievement in an Israeli Feature Film for its three actresses, Shaden Kanboura, Sana Jammelieh and Mouna Hawa. The movie already represented Israel at San Sebastián (read the news). The Michael Shvili Award for Best Actor in a Feature Film went to actors Norman Issa and Moshe Ivgy for their performances in The 90 Minute War by Eyal Halfon, which was co-produced by Israel and Germany.

In the Carmel International Film Competition, the Spanish-Argentinian co-production The Distinguished Citizen [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], directed by Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn, won the Best Film Award. In the movie, Mr Mantovani, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, makes drastic changes to his life when he decides to return to his hometown in Argentina. Last year, another co-production between Latin America and Europe won the same prize: Alias Maria [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by José Luis Rugeles, which saw Argentinian, French and Colombian involvement.

In the Between Jewish and Israeli Identity Competition, The Tobias Spencer Award was bestowed upon Night Song [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a French-Canadian film directed by Raphaël Nadjari, and the Special Mention went to Romanian-German film Scarred Hearts [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Radu Jude
film profile], directed by Radu Jude.

Last but not least, in the Mediterranean Golden Anchor Competition, the Golden Anchor Award for Best Film was handed to Turkish-Hungarian title Cold of Kalandar [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Mustafa Kara, which also received the Fedeora Award from the Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean for Best Foreign Film. The Special Mention in this competition went to a co-production between Turkey, Poland, Germany and France, Clair Obscur [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Yesim Ustaoglu.

Here is the complete list of winners at the festival: 

Israeli Feature Films Competition

Haifa Cultural Fund Award for Best Feature Film 
Personal Affairs - Maha Haj

Danny Lerner Award for a Debut Feature Film
In Between [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maysaloun Hamoud
film profile] - Maysaloun Hamoud

Script Award in Collaboration with the Scriptwriters’ Guild 
A Quiet Heart - Eitan Anner

Michael Shvili Award for Best Actor in a Feature Film
Eyal Halfon - The 90 Minute War 

Michael Shvili Award for Best Actress in a Feature Film
Rama Burshtein - Through the Wall 

Anat Pirchi Award for Editing in a Feature Film
Arik Rotstein - Antenna

Anat Pirchi Award for Cinematography in a Feature Film
Erez Tadmor - Home Port 

Israeli Documentary Competition 

Rozalia Katz Award for Best Documentary Film
Lillian. Poetess - Ilan Peled, Yair Qedar

Special Mention
The Octettes - Lina Chaplin

Special Mention
Sulha - Eytan Harris 

Carmel International Film Competition

Carmel Award for Best Film
The Distinguished Citizen [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Gastón Duprat, Mariano Cohn

Special Mention
Insight - Alexandr Kott

Between Jewish and Israeli Identity Competition

Tobias Spencer Award
Night Song [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Raphaël Nadjari

Special Mention
Scarred Hearts [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Radu Jude
film profile] - Radu Jude 

Mediterranean Golden Anchor Competition

Golden Anchor Award for Best Film
Cold of Kalandar [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Mustafa Kara

Special Mention
Clair Obscur [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Yesim Ustaoglu

Fedeora European Critics Award

Fedeora Award by the Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean for Best Foreign Film
Cold of Kalandar - Mustafa Kara

Fedeora Award for Artistic Achievement in an Israeli Feature Film
In Between - Maysaloun Hamoud 

Awards for Israeli Short Film Competitions

Gesher Fund Award for Independent Short Film
Babysitter - Aurit Zamir

Special Mention
The Ambassador's Wife - Dina Zvi Riklis

Eli Gelfand/Gesher Fund Award for Short Animation Film
I Am Billy - Moshe Gilboa 

Special Mention
Roach - Jonathan HaShiloni 

Gesher Fund Award for Film School Shorts
212 - Boaz Frankel

Special Mention
Our Heroes - Yair Agmon 

“Mix” Programme

Production Grant from the Gesher Multicultural Film Fund
Rony and Riyad - Inbar Horesh

Grant from the Levin Family
Perception - Rukaya Sabbah 

Special Mention by the Jury/Gesher Multicultural Film Fund Grant 
Id - Kaid Abu Latif, Yosef Abu Mediam