The two Golden Eye award-winners singled out at the landmark twentieth anniversary edition of the Zurich Film Festival reflect the juries’ desire to foreground new approaches employed by intrepid directors who aren’t afraid of exposing their own personal stories, denouncing the hypocrisy and violence around them.

In the fiction field, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Rungano Nyoni, Susan Chardy
scheda film] by the Zambian-born British director, set designer and actress Rungano Nyoni earned itself the Golden Eye within the International Competition. It’s a personal second feature film which tells the story of Shula who is dealing with her deceased uncle’s body. His funeral represents an opportunity to reveal a few family secrets which have been buried for far too long. “A surreal and dramatic comedy which is full of surprises and which revolves around the lies we tell ourselves”, is how the movie was described by the jury, led by American director, screenwriter and producer Lee Daniels. In their statement, the members of the jury insisted that, from the very first frame, “the film catapults viewers into a spectacular world, with incredible music, exquisite sound design and breathtaking performances. We have no doubt the director will win over Hollywood”.

The Special Mention awarded within the International Competition went to Chinese director Jianjie Lin’s enthralling first feature film Brief History of a Family [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]. A psychological thriller in the truest sense, the film tells the story of two little boys who are both only children, hailing from very different families, who find themselves living in very close quarters. The jury stressed the singularity of these two brave voices - those of Rungano Nyoni and Jianjie Lin - “who dare to lay their souls bare and tell their own personal stories”.

It was Black Box Diaries [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Japanese journalist Shiori Itō which walked away with the Golden Eye in the Documentary Competition. A pure cry of revolt against violence against women in Japan, which is still overwhelmingly dominated by hardline patriarchal laws, the film tells the story of Shiori Itō’s life, a woman who was raped by a respected Japanese journalist who enjoys close ties with the government in their country. The director fights tirelessly for many years against laws which are anything but favourable to victims, and against a mentality which tends to minimise violence against women. Convinced of the revolutionary power of film, the jury members led by British director and producer Kevin Mcdonald declared themselves stupefied “by the resilience, openness and bravery which the director has demonstrated, exposing herself in all her vulnerability”. In their opinion, the film has “the power to change the systemic violence perpetrated against women all over the world”.

In the same competition, another two courageous movies walked away with a Special Mention: Sabbath Queen by Sandi DuBowski and Marching in the Dark [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Kinshuk Surjan. Just like the protagonist of Black Box Diaries, the lead character in Sabbath Queen – a gay man belonging to a family comprising a number of Orthodox rabbis – has to contend with cultural traditions which exclude and marginalise him. As the jury enthused, “in a period of conflicts, this film shows us – in an entertaining way – that courageous voices can bring about change and encourage respect and humanity”. Marching in the Dark, which the jury found especially moving, also follows marginal characters who too often go unnoticed, namely the widows of the numerous peasant farmers who take their own lives every year in rural India.

The full list of winners is as follows:

International Film Competition

Golden Eye
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Rungano Nyoni, Susan Chardy
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Special Mention
Brief History of a Family [+leggi anche:
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Documentary Competition

Golden Eye
Black Box Diaries [+leggi anche:
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Special Mention
Sabbath Queen - Sandi DuBowski (USA)

Extra Special Mention
Marching in the Dark [+leggi anche:
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ZFF for Kids

Jury Prize
Lioness - Raymond Grimbergen (Netherlands)

Other awards

Critics’ Award
The Courageous [+leggi anche:
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Audience Award
Black Box Diaries - Shiori Itō

Audience Award ZFF for Kids
The Super Elfkins - Ute Von Münchow-Pohl (Germany/Austria)

Zurich Churches Award
The Courageous - Jasmin Gordon

Best International Film Music
Ahmed Soroko