(September 8, 2015 – Montréal, QC) The 2015 Montreal World Film Festival wrapped last night with the Grand Prize going to Fou d’Amour, the latest film from director Philippe Ramos. Set in France in 1959, a man accused of two murders is found guilty and condemned to death. He is guillotined. But his head begins to tell the story of his life. He was a priest. He loved life, he loved women, he loved God and preached every Sunday in his church. A perfect life! An admired priest, a wonderful lover, his earthly paradise seemed never-ending. As the director described it, “In my earlier film, Ici-bas, I placed all the anguish of the world on the shoulders of the priest, imbuing the story with a suffocating gravity: the lively and seductive side to the murderer was largely discarded. This left me with a sense of unfinished business. With Fou d’Amour, just as a painter repeats his motif in order to explore new aspects, I reworked my canvas: this time, the happiness and pleasure would be voluble and would precede the devastating madness. So the film has a lighter, even humorous tone, before the colours change here and there to create a deteriorating atmosphere and a darkening mood, until it all turns black and tragic.”
This year`s jury was made up of President, Dany Laferrière, writer (Canada), Luis Urquiza, filmmaker (Mexico), Gerardo Salcedo, festival programmer (Mexico), Peter Rainer, writer & film critic (United States), Ventura Pons, filmmaker, (Spain) and Tea Falco, actress (Italy).
Following are the other awards handed out in Montreal last night:
Features:
Special Grand Jury Award:
Misafir (The Visitor/La Visiteuse) from Mehmet Eryilmaz (Turkey)
Best director: Tie:
2 nights til morning from Mikko Kuparinen (Finland / Luthania) and
Dosieto Petrov (Petrov File / Le Dossier Petrov) from Georgi Balabanov (Bulgaria / Germany)
Best Actress:
Malin Buska for The Girl King from Mika Kaurismäki (Canada / Finland /Germany / Switzerland)
Best Actor:
Wolfram Berger for Rider Jack directed by This Lüscher (Switzerland)
Best Screenplay:
Letnie Przesilenie (Summer Solstice / Solstice d’été) from Michal Rogalski (Poland/ Germany)
Best Artistic contribution:
Seven Days from Xing Jian (China)
Innovation Award:
Un Instante En La Habana (Havana Moment) from Guillermo Ivàn Duenas (USA / Cuba / Mexico/ Colombia)
Short Films:
1st Prize: La Voce (La voix) from David Uloth (Canada)
Jury Award:
Honeysuckle from Lucy Lumsden (United Kingdom)
Zenith awards for best first fiction feature:
Jury members for First Fiction Films: Pierre Henri Deleau and Antoine Zeind
Golden Zenith for the Best First Fiction Feature Film:
Chuyi (The Funeral / Les funérailles) from Qi Wang (China)
Silver Zenith for the First Fiction Feature Film:
Para Minha Amada Morta (To My Beloved / À Ma Bien Aimée) from Ali Muritiba (Brazil)
Bronze Zenith for the First Fiction Feature Film:
La Linea Delgada Amarilla (The Thin Yellow Line) from Celso Garcia (Mexico)
Special Mentions of the First Feature Film Jury:
Asman Aldynda (Under Heaven) from Dalmira Tilepbergen (Kyrgyzstan) and
Rosa Chumbe from Jonatan Relayze Chiang (Peru)
Public Awards:
The Public was invited to vote for the most popular films presented during the 2015 Montreal World film festival.
Public Awards for the most popular film of the Festival:
Chucks from Sabine Hiebler and Gerhard Ertl, from the Cornelia Travnicek novel (Austria)
Public Awards for the most popular Canadian film of the Festival:
The Girl King from Mika Kaurismäki (Canada / Finland /Germany / Switzerland)
Glauber Rocha Award for the Best Latin American:
La Delgada Linea Amarilla (The Thin Yellow Line) from Celso Garcia (Mexico)
Award for Best Documentary: TIE
Marzia, Ystäväni(Marzia My Friend / Marzia Mon Amie) from Kirsi Mattila (Finland) and
Playing Lecuona de Pavel Giroud (Spain- Colombia)
Best Canadian Short Film:
La Voce (The Voice / La Voix) from David Uloth (Canada)
FIPRESCI PRIZE (INTERNATIONALE FILM CRITICS), WORLD compétition:
Misafir (The Visitor / La Visiteuse) from Mehmet Eryilmaz (Turkey)
FIPRESCI PRIZE (INTERNATIONALE FILM CRITICS), First Feature:
Rosa Chumbe from Jonatan Relayze Chiang (Peru)
Ecumenical Jury Prize:
L’orchestre de minuit from director Jérôme Cohen Olivar (Morroco)
Ecumenical Jury Mentions:
Un Instante En La Habana by Guillermo Ivàn Duenas (USA, Cuba, Mexico, Colombia) and
Dorogo Na Berlin (On The Road To Berlin) de Sergei Popov (Russia)
OTHER AWARDS:
A special grand prize of the Americas was awarded to producer Lord Puttnam for his exceptional contribution to the world of cinema.
