Yesterday, the Semaine de la Critique Awards (The Critic’s Week) were handed out. The jury president was Sylvie Pialat, while the other jury members were Ben Croll, Iris Kaltenbäck, Virginie Surdej, and Eliane Umuhire. They decided to give two awards to the Belgian-Swedish Julie Keeps Quiet (Julie zweigt), by Leonardo van Dijl, which won the SACD Award, as well as the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution. In my mind, these are highly welcome renumerations for an interesting film, which grows better while you watch it. A review of the film should be up shortly.
The Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award was given to Ricardo Teodoro for his part as Ronaldo in Baby (Stay tuned for a review and an interview with the director). The French Touch Prize of the Jury was given to the hugely popular Blue Sun Palace by Constance Tsang. The Grand Prix was awarded to Simon of the Mountain (Simon de la montaña) by Federico Luis. Moving on to the shorts, the Canal+ Award for short film went to Noksan (Absent) by Cem Demirer. The official Leitz Cine Discovery Prize for a short film went to Montsouris (Montsouris Park) by Guil Sela.
