Solitary triumphs at Arras
- Ireland’s Eamonn Murphy scoops the Golden Atlas, Lithuania’s Gabrielė Urbonaitė bags the Silver Atlas for Renovation, and English director Kirk Jones wins over the audience with I Swear
Presided over by French filmmaker Stéphane Demoustier (who was joined by Florence Loiret-Caille, Maud Wyler, Rachid Hami and Louis Memmi), the competition jury of the 26th Arras Film Festival (which broke its attendance record with more than 55,000 spectators) has awarded the Golden Atlas – Grand Jury Prize (endowed with €12,000 for the film's French distributor) to Solitary [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Irish director Eamonn Murphy.
Lauded as Best Irish Independent Film at the Galway Film Fleadh and made on a shoestring budget, the filmmaker’s debut feature (which he also wrote) centres on a widowed farmer called Brendan (the charismatic Gerry Herbert) who leads a quiet life on the outskirts of a village in the Irish countryside. But when his home is burgled, a growing sense of fear and insecurity takes hold despite the support of those around him. The film explores the silent struggle of an elderly man trying to preserve his independence in a society which he no longer feels is his.
The Silver Atlas for Best Director (worth €5,000, courtesy of the Hauts-de-France region) went to Lithuanian filmmaker Gabrielė Urbonaitė for Renovation [+see also:
film review
interview: Gabrielė Urbonaitė
film profile] (a debut feature unveiled in Karlovy Vary’s Proxima competition).
Also worth a mention is the Special Mention bestowed by the main jury upon Maturity [+see also:
film review
interview: Jean-Benoît Ugeux
film profile] by Belgian director Jean-Benoît Ugeux, while the Audience Award (worth €6,000 from the Pas-de-Calais department for the film's French distributor) and the Youth Jury Award both went to I Swear [+see also:
film review
film profile] by English filmmaker Kirk Jones. Last but not least, the Critics’ Prize crowned Made in EU [+see also:
film review
interview: Stephan Komandarev
film profile] by Bulgarian filmmaker Stephan Komandarev its champion.
The winners are as follows:
Golden Atlas - Grand Jury Prize
Solitary [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Eamonn Murphy (Ireland)
Silver Atlas for Best Director
Renovation [+see also:
film review
interview: Gabrielė Urbonaitė
film profile] - Gabrielė Urbonaitė (Lithuania/Latvia/Belgium)
Special Mention
Maturity [+see also:
film review
interview: Jean-Benoît Ugeux
film profile] - Jean-Benoît Ugeux (Belgium/France)
Audience Award
I Swear [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Kirk Jones (United Kingdom)
SFCC Critics’ Prize
Made in EU [+see also:
film review
interview: Stephan Komandarev
film profile] - Stephan Komandarev (Bulgaria/Germany/Czech Republic)
Youth Jury Prize
I Swear - Kirk Jones
Favourite Female-Focused Film
The Wonderers – Joséphine Japy (France)
(Translated from French)
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