The 24th edition of the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) dazzled with its open-air set-up, its enthusiastic talks, its intriguing performances and its fascinating exhibitions. Over the course of nine days, viewers (66,000 in total, according to initial estimations) got to travel through imaginary worlds put forth through a vast cinematographic panorama composed of 127 works hailing from 42 countries. By way of this brilliant and razor-sharp selection, the festival painted the portrait of a kind of genre cinema whose edges are intentionally blurry and which doesn’t seem to have any limits in terms of its rich variety of styles and subjects explored.

This year’s winners, who reflect this eclecticism and defiance of limits, include the dazzlingly mysterious and powerful movie The Ice Tower [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Lucile Hadžihalilović
scheda film] by French director Lucile Hadžihalilovic. The film was previously selected in Berlin’s official competition where it scooped the Silver Bear for Best Artistic Contribution. A modern fairy tale filled with longing and carried by lead actresses Clara Pacini and Marion Cotillard, The Ice Tower won over the International Competition jury composed of US illustrator Emil Ferris, French writers Hélène Frappat and Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, Taiwanese director John Hsu and Belgian stylist and artistic director Olivier Theyskens, who rewarded the work with two trophies: the Narcisse for Best First Film and the Imaging the Future Prize for Best Production Design. The Special Mention was also won by a French woman director, Julia Kowalski, for Her Will Be Done [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Julia Kowalski
scheda film], which is an emancipatory tale set against a backdrop of witchcraft and beliefs hailing from a rural world laden with taboos. Meanwhile, the queer and feminist re-reading of Cinderella called The Ugly Stepsister [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] by Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt, bagged the Silver Meliès for Best European Fantastic Feature Film.

The audience, for their part, decided to award the RTS Audience Prize (International Competition) to U Are the Universe [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Pavlo Ostrikov
scheda film], a first feature film by Ukraine’s Pavlo Ostrikov which is a delicate and moving sci-fi film which successfully won over those present in the auditorium. The movie also walked away with the Youth Prize.

The international critics jury, composed of Canadian journalist Ben Croll and the two French journalists Camille Regache and Margaux Baralon was bowled over by Honey Bunch, Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli’s second feature film which tells the horrific story of a mysterious doctor who seems capable of curing wounds of the body and soul. The Audience Award for Best Fantastic Film in the Asian Competition, meanwhile, went to Rewrite by Japan’s Daigo Matsui, offering up a sci-fi romance between two teens who live in different space-time continuums, while the HR Giger Narcisse for Best Swiss Short Film was nabbed by Frederic Siegel’s animated movie TV Or The Disturbance On Forest Hill Road.

The winners are as follows:

International Competition

HR Giger Narcisse Award for Best Film
The Ice Tower [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Lucile Hadžihalilović
scheda film] - Lucile Hadžihalilovic (France/Germany/Italy)
Special Mention
Her Will Be Done [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Julia Kowalski
scheda film] - Julia Kowalski (France/Poland)

Silver Méliès for Best European Fantastic Feature Film
The Ugly Stepsister [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] - Emilie Blichfeldt (Norway/Sweden/Poland/Denmark/Romania)

Imaging the Future Prize for Best Production Design
The Ice Tower - Lucile Hadžihalilovic

Denis-De-Rougemont Youth Prize
U Are the Universe [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Pavlo Ostrikov
scheda film] - Pavlo Ostrikov (Ukraine/Belgium)

RTS Audience Award
U Are the Universe - Pavlo Ostrikov

NIFFF International Critics’ Award
Honey Bunch - Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli (Canada/UK)

New Cinema from Asia Competition

Audience Award for Best Asian Film
Rewrite - Daigo Matsui (Japan)

Short Film Competition

HR Giger Narcisse Award for Best Swiss Short Film
TV Or The Disturbance On Forest Hill Road – Frederic Siegel (Switzerland)

Silver Méliès for Best European Fantastic Short Film
Stomach Bug - Matty Crawford (UK)

Youth Prize for Best Short Film
The Eggregores’ Theory - Andrea Gatopoulos (Italy)

Audience Award for Best Short Film
Playing God - Matteo Burani (France/Italie)