Unspooling within the Industry Village event of the 14th Les Arcs Film Festival, the Co-Production Village and Talent Village have handed out their prizes.

The ArteKino International Prize, awarded by Rémi Burah to one of the Co-Production Village’s 18 projects in development, has been won by The Visitor, Lithuanian director Vytautas Katkus’s first feature film project, which was written by the filmmaker alongside Marija Kavtaradze. The story unfolds at the end of summer. Following the death of his father, 30-year-old Danielius returns to the seaside resort in which he was raised to sell his parents’ old apartment. But the short journey towards his childhood and teen home takes longer than he imagined. Danielius finds himself in some sort of alternative reality where time seems to have stood still since he moved away. He slowly explores the town, comparing its different parts with various, highly familiar kinds of loneliness. Not having anywhere to rush off to, he tries to track down his old childhood friends and acquaintances, including his ex-girlfriend. But Danielius soon ends up spending increasing amounts of time with his ex’s father, developing a cordial and even romantic friendship with him… Production is steered by Marija Razgute on behalf of Lithuanian company M-Films. For the record, this project also walked away with the Next Step Prize in Cannes’ Critics’ Week (read our news).

Decided upon by a jury composed of Julie Billy and Georges Goldenstern, the Universciné Talent Village Prize (consisting of 2,000 euros) was handed to Not Coming Out by Germany’s Pascal Schuh. The story is based upon Coming Out, the first and only gay film produced in the German Demoncratic Republic. It was screened for the first time on 9 November 1989, the same day the Berlin Wall fell. The film Not Coming Out is a psychogram of that historic night and an exploration of the uncertainty and anxiety felt by East-German homosexuals, not knowing their fate under the far more restrictive and homophobic rules - specifically Paragraph 175 – in force in West Germany.

A Talent Village Special Mention, meanwhile, was bestowed upon the project entitled The Shame of the Borbély Family by Hungary’s Kálmán Nagy (who’s been living in Austria since 2012). The story unfurls in a small Hungarian town, where 10-year-old Ábel's older brother attacks his teacher with a knife at school. The teacher is taken to the hospital in a life-threatening condition and Ábel's brother is arrested. The teacher dies from her injuries over the days that follow. Ábel and his family are left to deal with the consequences of the violent act, their trauma and the humiliating reactions of the community.

Last but not least, the Producers Network linked to Cannes’ Marché du Film awarded two badges for its 2023 edition to two producers selected for the Co-Production Village: Montenegro’s Jelena Angelovski (Meander Film – who were presenting Dusan Kasalica’s project Primavera) and Slovakia’s Katarína Krnáčová (Silverart – who presented Martin Gonda’s project Flood).

The prizes were as follows:

Co-Production Village

ArteKino International Prize
The Visitor - Vytautas Katkus (Lithuania)
Production: M-Films

Talent Village

Universciné Talent Village Prize
Not Coming Out - Pascal Schuh (Germany)

Special Mention
The Shame of the Borbély Family - Kálmán Nagy (Hungary)