07/04/2025 - The film by German director Jan Ole Gerster has won the Grand Prize; Little Jaffna, The Things You Kill and We Believe You also stand out amongst the winners

Jan Ole Gerster has triumphed at the 5th Reims Polar International Thriller Film Festival, whose guest of honour was Stephen Frears and which also paid homage to Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Indeed, the main competition jury, presided by Bruno Podalydès (supported by Anne Le Ny, Arnaud Valois, Hugues Pagan, Jonathan Zaccaï, Alice Taglioni and Caroline Proust) gave the Grand Prize to Islands [+see also:
film review
film profile], the German filmmaker’s third feature after Lara [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: GoCritic! Interview: Jan-Ol…
interview: Jan Ole Gerster
film profile] (awarded at Karlovy Vary in 2019) and Oh Boy [+see also:
trailer
interview: Jan Ole Gerster
film profile] (2012).

Unveiled last February as a special screening in Berlin, this English-language film whose story takes place on the Spanish island of Fuerteventura, stars Sam Riley, Stacy Martin and Jack Farthing amongst others. Sold internationally by Protagonist Pictures, Islands will be distributed in France by Jour2Fête.

A Jury prize went to Little Jaffna [+see also:
film review
interview: Lawrence Valin
film profile], the debut feature by French filmmaker Lawrence Valin, which also won the Audience Award. Discovered in Critics’ Week in Venice, the film is sold by Charades and will be released in French cinemas on 30 April by Zinc Distribution.

The third big winner of this edition of Reims Polar is The Things You Kill [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alireza Khatami
film profile] by Iranian filmmaker Alireza Khatami, which took home a Jury prize and the Critics’ Prize. Winner of the Best Directing Award in Sundance, this production between France, Poland, Canada and Turkey is sold by Best Friend Forever and will be distributed in France by Le Pacte.

Worth mentioning, too, are the three awards won by We Believe You [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arnaud Dufeys and Charlotte…
film profile], directed by Belgian filmmakers Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys, in the New Blood competition (whose jury was presided by Sami Bouajila, accompanied by Noée Abita, Stefan Crépon, Sayyid el Alami and Florence Loiret Caille): the main award, an exceptional Best Acting Award for Myriem Akheddiou, and the Youth Jury Prize. Finally, the Police Prize went to Spanish production Undercover [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Arantxa Echevarría.

The full list of winners:

Grand Prize
Islands [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Jan Ole Gerster (Germany)

Jury Prize
Little Jaffna [+see also:
film review
interview: Lawrence Valin
film profile] - Lawrence Valin (France)
The Things You Kill [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alireza Khatami
film profile] - Alireza Khatami (France/Poland/Canada/Turkey)

Police Prize
La infiltrada [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Arantxa Echevarría (Spain)

Critics’ Prize
The Things You Kill - Alireza Khatami

Audience Award
Little Jaffna - Lawrence Valin

New Blood Prize
We Believe You [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arnaud Dufeys and Charlotte…
film profile] - Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys (Belgium)

New Blood Exceptional Best Acting Award
Myriem Akheddiou - We Believe You

New Blood awarded by the Grand Est Region Youth Jury
We Believe You - Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys

Claude Chabrol Prize
The Kingdom [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Julien Colonna
film profile] – Julien Colonna (France)

(Translated from French)