21/10/2024 - Japanese filmmaker Kohei Igarashi seduced the festival jury, while Grand Tour by Miguel Gomes wins the Best Soundtrack Award

The 51st edition of the Film Fest Gent concluded on 20 October with the announcement of the winners selected by the Official Jury, consisting of Irish DOP Robbie Ryan, who presided it, Belgian filmmaker Bas Devos, Chinese actress Lu Huang Lithuanian director Marija Kavtaradze and Argentinian filmmaker Rodrigo Moreno.

The Grand Prize was awarded to Super Happy Forever [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kohei Igarashi
film profile] by Kohei Igarashi. This delicate portrait of a young man who returns to the scene of his first meeting with his wife, who recently passed away, moved the jury with its poetic exploration of grief and the miraculous power of love. The jury declared: “Super Happy Forever needs little to give a lot to the audience. We were overwhelmed by the modesty of the storytelling, and its singular use of time and space. The film is incredibly generous in the view it has of the life of its main characters. Served by wonderful 35mm film, and superbly interpreted, this film is a melancholy ode to living and dying in today’s Japan.” The film, discovered last month in Venice at the Giornate degli Autori and sold internationally by BAC Films, should soon find a Belgian distributor thanks to the prize money.

The other prize awarded by the Jury is the Georges Delerue Award for Best Soundtrack. It was given this year to Grand Tour [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marta Donzelli, Gregorio Pa…
interview: Miguel Gomes
film profile] by Miguel Gomes, the sixth feature film by the Portuguese filmmaker, sold internationally by The Match Factory. This prize shines a light on the influence that music and sound design can have on a film. In this “tour de force", the Jury appreciated “the clever weaving of voices, music and natural sounds that carries the spectator in an almost magnetic landscape.”

The festival also hosts a Competition dedicated to emerging talent, within which the film 78 Days [+see also:
film review
interview: Emilija Gašić
film profile] by Emilia Gašić received the Explore Award. Starting from her childhood memories, in the midst of the Kosovo war, the filmmaker creates a one-of-a-kind hybrid documentary that looks at the impact the conflict has had on an entire generation of young Serbs. Sold internationally by Lights On, the film is only made up of videos shot by three sisters, who recorded their daily lives to keep their absent father informed. A special mention was also awarded to Crossing Istanbul [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Levan Akin
film profile] by Levan Akin.

Finally, two Special Prizes were also given to British actress Emily Watson and Belgian-Palestinian documentary filmmaker Michel Khleifi in recognition of their careers.

The full list of winners:

Competition

Grand Prize
Super Happy Forever [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kohei Igarashi
film profile] - Kohei Igarashi (France/Japan)

Georges Delerue Award for Best Soundtrack
Grand Tour [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marta Donzelli, Gregorio Pa…
interview: Miguel Gomes
film profile] - Miguel Gomes (Portugal/Italy/France/Germany/Japan/China)

Explore Zone

Explore Award
78 Days [+see also:
film review
interview: Emilija Gašić
film profile] - Emilija Gašić (Serbia)

Special Mention
Crossing Istanbul [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Levan Akin
film profile] - Levan Akin (Sweden/Denmark/France/Turkey/Georgia)

International Short Film Competition

Best Short Film Award
Goodbye First Love - Shuli Huang (USA)

Special Mention
And How Miserable is the Home of Evil - Saleh Kashefi (Switzerland/Iran)

Belgian Student Short Film Competition

Best Belgian Student Short Film
Dreams About Putin - Nastia Korkia & Vlad Fishez (Belgium)

Belgian Student Audience Award
The World is My Idea - Alexander Wolfgang Smadja (Belgium)

Other Prizes

Joseph Plateau Honorary Prize
Emily Watson
Michel Khleifi

(Translated from French)