05/02/2024 - Three films with European involvement, Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust, Power Alley and Green Border, snagged the NETPAC Award, Youth Jury Award and Audience Award, respectively

The 2024 edition of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), which kicked off in the Dutch city on 25 January, has now come to a close. This year’s main prizes were handed out on Friday, during the traditional awards ceremony.

The top prize, the Tiger Award (worth €40,000), went to Tanaka Toshihiko’s Rei (Japan). The jury, made up of Marco Müller, Ena Sendijarević, Nadia Turincev, Billy Woodberry and Herman Yau, rewarded “a burgeoning director who chose to develop his debut film in a loose and unbounded environment […]. His strength relies on a collaborative environment centred on the actors, the attention paid to the power of recitation – and, perhaps most importantly, a taste for performative sequences that operate as discrete units within the overall structure, but which typically resist acting as the power of the different chosen locations slowly emerges,” the jurors added. 

Moreover, two Special Jury Awards, worth €10,000 apiece, were bestowed upon Midhun Murali’s Kiss Wagon (India) and Jaydon Martin’s Flathead (Australia). The Indian picture, which also snagged the FIPRESCI Award, was labelled as “hypnotic”, “bewildering” and “heart-racing”, and was described as “a trip on a high-speed train where our solitudes are mouth-to-mouth reanimated”, whilst the Australian movie was praised for addressing “the people who have contributed to society, keep society going and rolling, but [are] not given enough attention and care”. Its execution was defined as “calm and touching”, and its images as “powerful and convincing”. The jury included Samina Khan, Sylvie de Leeuwe, Lisa van der Loos, Marcos Silva and Ella de Bruijn. 

Meanwhile, two films with some European involvement took home two prizes. The NETPAC Award went to Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust [+see also:
film review
interview: Ishan Shukla
film profile] by Ishan Shukla (India/France/Germany), whilst Lillah Halla’s Power Alley [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lillah Halla
film profile] (Brazil/France/Uruguay) won the Youth Jury Award.

The NETPAC jury, made up of Elena Larionova Haug, Donsaron Kovitvanitcha and Andreas Ungerböck, said that Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust “bravely, but not aggressively, tackles the problems in current politics and in society, not only in Asia but worldwide”. They added: “It is a film with a universal approach, made in a spectacular style with a clear vision, with a lot of astonishing ideas and with a great sense of humour.”

The Youth Jury Award winner was picked by a panel of local film enthusiasts aged between 16 and 22. Their supporting statement billed Power Alley as “daring, fearless and representative of the turbulent experiences and emotions that young people go through […]. It's a film that strikes a balance between being challenging and resonating with a young audience; it’s one with a promising longevity, a film that remains with its viewers long after they’ve left the movie theatre. Moreover, the film we chose spreads a powerful message that touched our hearts and that we, as young people, would like to stand behind,” the jurors summed up.

Finally, Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Poland/Czech Republic/France/Belgium) scooped the Audience Award, given to the film in the official selection with the highest average vote in the audience poll.

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

Tiger Competition

Tiger Award
Rei – Tanaka Toshihiko (Japan)

Special Jury Awards
Kiss Wagon – Midhun Murali (India)
Flathead – Jaydon Martin (Australia)

Tiger Short Competition

Short Competition winners
Crazy Lotus – Naween Noppakun (Thailand)
Few Can See – Frank Sweeney (Ireland)
Workers’ Wings – Ilir Hasanaj (Kosovo)

European Short Film Award nomination
I Would Rather Be a Stone – Ana Hušman (Croatia)

KNF Award
Daphne Was a Torso Ending in Leaves – Catriona Gallagher (Italy/Greece)

Big Screen Competition

VPRO Big Screen Award
The Old Bachelor – Oktay Baraheni (Iran)

Other awards

FIPRESCI Award
Kiss Wagon – Midhun Murali

NETPAC Award
Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust [+see also:
film review
interview: Ishan Shukla
film profile] – Ishan Shukla (India/France/Germany)

Youth Jury Award
Power Alley [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lillah Halla
film profile] – Lillah Halla (Brazil/France/Uruguay)

Audience Award
Green Border [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Agnieszka Holland (Poland/Czech Republic/France/Belgium)