14/11/2022 - Meanwhile, the festival has awarded Rosy McEwen and Kerrie Hayes’ “Breakthrough Performances” in Blue Jean, and Ioseb Bliadze and Taki Mumladze’s script for A Room of My Own

It’s a wrap for the 22^nd edition of the Belfast Film Festival (3-12 November), which was brought to a conclusion by the closing-night ceremony, held on Saturday 12 November. For the first time ever, the Northern Irish gathering announced the winners of its inaugural International Film Competition. In detail, the competition aimed “to celebrate the most exciting new films from around the world that are a first or second feature”.

The first International Film Competition jury was led by BAFTA- and Oscar-winning director Andrea Arnold. Arnold was joined by producer and writer Catherine Bray, and actor Stephen Rea.

The Award for Best Film was bestowed upon Davy Chou’s Return to Seoul [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Davy Chou
film profile] (France/Germany/Belgium/Qatar/Cambodia). Premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes earlier this year, the picture revolves around a 25-year-old French woman who returns to Korea – the country she was born in before being adopted by a French couple – for the very first time. She decides to track down her biological parents, but her journey takes a surprising turn. The jury described it as “a fully realised narrative that skilfully demonstrates the fundamental and universal desire to connect, through a very specific and precisely constructed lens. […] It’s anchored by a commanding and emotionally rich performance from Park Ji-min that distils a lifetime of experience into a couple of hours’ screen time,” the jurors added.

Next, they awarded Breakthrough Performance to two actors: Rosy McEwen and Kerrie Hayes. “Each of these two performances makes up an essential half of the film’s central relationship. Both Rosy McEwen and Kerrie Hayes are doing superb work in Georgia Oakley’s remarkable Blue Jean [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Georgia Oakley
film profile] [UK], and it’s our pleasure to jointly award them Breakthrough Performance,” they explained.

Meanwhile, the Award for Outstanding Craft Contribution was given to writer-director Ioseb ‘Soso’ Bliadze and actor-writer Taki Mumladze, for their work on the script for A Room of My Own [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ioseb “Soso” Bliadze and Ta…
film profile] (Georgia/Germany), in which Mumladze also stars. “This gorgeous Georgian film explores every dimension of a burgeoning connection, with wit and charm to spare. It is a film full of character and humour,” the jury statement reads.

Finally, the gongs for Best Short Filmwent to two Irish flicks – namely, Sour Milk by Mark Keane and Still up There by Joe Loftus.

Here is the list of this year’s award winners:

Best Film
Return to Seoul [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Davy Chou
film profile] – Davy Chou (France/Germany/Belgium/Qatar/Cambodia)

Breakthrough Performance Award
Rosy McEwen and Kerrie Hayes – Blue Jean [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Georgia Oakley
film profile] (UK)

Outstanding Craft Contribution Award
Ioseb ‘Soso’ Bliadze and Taki Mumladze – A Room of My Own [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ioseb “Soso” Bliadze and Ta…
film profile] (Georgia/Germany)

Best Short Film
Sour Milk – Mark Keane (Ireland)
Still up There – Joe Loftus (Ireland)