18/11/2024 - Yorgos Zois’ Arcadia has snagged the Spirit of the Festival Award for Best Screenplay, whilst Sinéad O'Shea's Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story scooped the Award for Best Irish Feature

The 69th Cork International Film Festival held its closing awards gala on Saturday 16 November. The festival, based in the Rebel City and constituting Ireland’s oldest cinematic gathering, ran from 7-17 November this year. The evening featured the presentation of the event’s main awards, including Best Documentary, the Spirit of the Festival (encompassing Best Screenplay and Best Film) and Best New Irish Feature.

First, the jury awarded the Award for Best Documentary to Christine Angot’s A Family [+see also:
film review
film profile] (France), described as “a raw and confrontational work, a personal intervention that confronts both the violence of the past and the present with the force of language”. Next, the Spirit of the Festival Award for Best Screenplay went to Arcadia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Yorgos Zois
film profile] (Greece/Bulgaria/USA), directed by Yorgos Zois, and penned by Konstantina Kotzamani and Zois. It was commended by the jury for its “complex and eclectic story that constantly pushes the boundaries between life and death, and raises the question of the mise-en-scène of the invisible”, further enhanced by standout performances from Angeliki Papoulia and Vangelis Mourikis.

Later, the Spirit of the Festival Award for Best Film was presented to Mo Harawe’s The Village Next to Paradise [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], described as “an authentic, singular and quietly powerful portrait of a Somali family”. Additionally, the jury awarded a Special Mention to The Imminent Age [+see also:
film review
film profile] by the Vigilia Collective, Clara Serrano Llorens and Gerald Simó Gimeno (Spain), which was praised for its “humanistic sensitivity, simplicity as a value of cinematographic language, and the strength of a collective work that demonstrates that cinema continues to search, in stories, faces and bodies, for emotion and truth”.

Finally, the Best New Irish Feature Award was bestowed upon Sinéad O'Shea’s Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story, celebrated for its “masterful storytelling, which is both sensitive and evocative, offering a heartfelt yet humorous exploration of Edna O’Brien’s remarkable life and literary legacy”, with the jurors noting how the pic highlights “the resilience, complexity and wit of one of Ireland’s most beloved authors”. Following the awards ceremony, the Irish premiere of Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch brought the event to a close.

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

Best Documentary
A Family [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Christine Angot (France)

Spirit of the Festival – Best Screenplay
Arcadia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Yorgos Zois
film profile] – Yorgos Zois (Greece/Bulgaria/USA)

Spirit of the Festival – Best Film
The Village Next to Paradise [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Mo Harawe (Austria/France/Somalia)
Special Mention
The Imminent Age [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Vigilia Collective, Clara Serrano Llorens, Gerald Simó Gimeno (Spain)

Best New Irish Feature
Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story – Sinéad O'Shea (Ireland)