20/03/2023 - The film by French filmmaker Thierry Binisti received the most votes from the audience; also awarded were A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On, No Place Like Home and The Visit and a Secret Garden

The Channel director Thierry Binisti at the Bergamo Film Meeting (© Bergamo Film Meeting)

For the second year in a row, a film by a French author is the winner of the Bergamo Film Meeting's competition: The Channel [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Thierry Binisti, chosen by the audience, wins the prize worth €5,000 for the best film of the 41st edition that ended last Saturday. The film, about young single mother Natacha (Alice Isaaz) who organises with Iraqi Walid (Adam Bessa) an "artisanal" traffic of migrants in Calais, will be released in France on 12 April by Diaphana. The second and third audience prizes went to Backwards [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Poland's Jacek Lusiński and Minsk (Estonia/Russia) by Boris Guts, respectively.

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The international jury, chaired by Nerina Kocjančič (Slovenian Film Centre) chose A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gentian Koçi
film profile] by Albanian filmmaker Gentian Koçi for the Best Director Award.

In the Visti da Vicino section, dedicated to documentary cinema, the CGIL Bergamo Award for the best documentary most voted by the audience went ex aequo to No Place Like Home by Emilie Beck from Norway and The Visit and a Secret Garden [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Irene M. Borrego from Spain. The CGIL Jury Prize - La Sortie de l'Usine, awarded to the documentary that best addresses issues related to the world of work and social issues, went to Pongo Calling by Czech director Tomáš Kratochvíl.

The full awards list:

Competition

First Prize Bergamo Film Meeting
The Channel [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] -Thierry Binisti (France/Belgium)

Second Prize Bergamo Film Meeting
Backwards [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Jacek Lusiński (Poland)

Third Prize Bergamo Film Meeting
Minsk - Boris Guts (Estonia/Russia)

Best Director Award
A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gentian Koçi
film profile] - Gentian Koçi (Albania/Portugal/Greece/Kosovo)

Visti da Vicino section

CGIL Bergamo Best Documentary Award (ex aequo)
No Place Like Home - Emilie Beck (Norway)
The Visit and a Secret Garden [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Irene M. Borrego (Spain/Portugal)

CGIL “La sortie de l’usine” Audience Award
Pongo Calling - Tomáš Kratochvíl (Czech Republic/Slovakia/United Kingdom)

(Translated from Italian)