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CINEMED 2020 Awards

Father is crowned the winner in Montpellier

by 

- Serbian Srdan Golubović’s film walks away with the Antigone d'Or, Zanka Contact wins a Special Mention, Here We Are scoops the Audience Award and Teddy proves popular with the critics

Father is crowned the winner in Montpellier
Father by Srdan Golubović

Father [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Srdan Golubović
film profile
]
by Serbian director Srdan Golubović has been awarded the 2020 Antigone d'Or courtesy of a jury presided over by the French director and slammer Grand Corps Malade, thereby declared the Best Feature Film of the 42nd Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival. Written by the director in league with Ognjen Svilicic, the story plunges the viewer into a small town in Serbia. A labourer and a father to two children, Nikola finds himself forced to hand the latter over to the care of social services when poverty and hunger drive his wife to commit a desperate act. They will be placed in foster care until Nikola is in a position to provide his children with the conditions they need to thrive. When Nikola learns the local authorities are corrupt, he decides to cross the whole of Serbia on foot to plead his case to the national ministry in Belgrade… Unveiled in the Berlinale’s Panorama section (where it bagged itself the Audience Award), this co-production uniting the likes of Serbia (Film House Bas Celic), France (ASAP Films), Germany (Neue Mediopolis), Croatia (Propeler Film) and Bosnia (SSCA/PRO.BA) is sold worldwide by The Match Factory.

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The jury also bestowed a Special Mention upon Zanka Contact [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Morocco’s Ismaël El Iraki (which already earned Khansa Batma a Best Female Performance trophy in Venice’s Orizzonti competition). Produced by French firm Barney Production alongside Belgian outfit Velvet Films and Moroccan group Mont Fleuri, this debut feature film will be released in France via UFO Distribution, with international sales in the hands of Italy’s True Colours.

The Audience and Critics’ awards, meanwhile, went to two titles decorated with Cannes’ Official Selection label: the former to the Israeli-Italian production Here We Are [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Israel’s Nir Bergman (sold by mk2 Films) and the latter to French film Teddy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by brothers Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma (sold by WTFilms), which also triumphed in the Best Music category, courtesy of Amaury Chabauty. Last but not least, the Best Documentary accolade was won by Acasa - My Home [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Radu Ciorniciuc
film profile
]
by Romania’s Radu Ciorniciuc (also honoured at the Sundance Film Festival and sold by Austria’s Autlook).

The full list of winners is as follows:

Feature Films

Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole Antigone d'or
Father [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Srdan Golubović
film profile
]
- Srdan Golubović (Serbia/France/Germany/Croatia/Bosnia)

Special Mention
Zanka Contact [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Ismaël El Iraki (France/Morocco/Belgium)

BNP Paribas Critics’ Award
Teddy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma (France)

Midi Libre Audience Award
Here We Are [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Nir Bergman (Israel/Italy)

Social Energy Activities Young Audience Award
Flashdrive - Dervis Zaim (Turquie)

JAM Award for Best Music
Amaury Chabauty - Teddy

Documentaries

Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole Ulysses Award
Acasa - My Home [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Radu Ciorniciuc
film profile
]
- Radu Ciorniciuc (Roumania/Finland/Germany)

CCU – CROUS Student Award for First Work
Their Algeria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lina Soualem
film profile
]
- Lina Soualem (France/Algeria)

Short Films

Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole Grand Prize for Best Short Film
Ça me fait une belle jambe - Adi Mishnayot (Israel)   

La Gazette – Titra Film Audience Award
Les jambes de Maradona - Firas Khoury (Palestine/Germany)

City of Montpellier Young Audience Award
Le chant d'Ahmed - Foued Mansour (France)

Special Mention
Fatum - Mohamed Ali Nahdi (Tunisia)

Canal+ Award
Les jambes de Maradona - Firas Khoury

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(Translated from French)

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