01/02/2021 - Samir Guesmi’s movie walks away with the French festival’s Grand Prize, while other prize winners include Paloma Sermon-Daï’s Petit samedi and Iryna Tsilyk’s The Earth is Blue as an Orange

Victory at the 33rd Angers European Premiers Plans Film Festival (organised online on account of the health crisis) was claimed by Ibrahim [+see also:
trailer
film profile], directed by France’s Samir Guesmi to whom the jury presided over by Pierre Salvadori (and further composed of Leyla Bouzid, Elsa Amiel and Filippo Meneghetti) awarded the European feature film competition’s Grand Prize.

The first feature film helmed by actor Samir Guesmi, Ibrahim has already earned itself the 2020 Cannes Film Festival’s Official Selection label, as well as triumphing at the Angoulême Film Festival (scooping four trophies, including that for Best Film) and walking away with Rome’s Alice nella Città Golden Camera Award. Produced by Why Not and sold worldwide by Wild Bunch, Ibrahim stars Abdel Benhader, Samir Guesmi himself, Rabah Nait Oufella, Luàna Bajrami and Philippe Rebbot. Penned by the director, the story revolves around young Ibrahim whose life is split between his father - the serious and reserved Ahmed who prepares shellfish at the Royal Opera brasserie - and Achille, his best friend at tech college. Achille is older than Ibrahim and a past master at screwing things up. And it’s because of him that Ahmed’s dreams of recovering his dignity and improving his professional life are shattered when he has to pay for a botched robbery carried out by his son. Relations between father and son are strained to breaking point but Ibrahim resolves to do whatever it takes to make amends, to put a smile back on Ahmed’s face and to find finally himself… Having initially planned for the film to be released in France in December of last year, Le Pacte are now waiting for cinemas to re-open before rescheduling the film’s release.

Also shining bright among the champions of the Anjou festival are two documentaries: Belgian production Petit Samedi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paloma Sermon Daï
film profile] by Paloma Sermon-Daï, which premiered in the Berlinale Forum, bagged the Bayard d’Or in Namur and has now scooped the Diagonales jury’s Grand Prize, and The Earth is Blue as an Orange [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Iryna Tsilyk
film profile] by Ukrainian director Iryna Tsilyk, which won an award at Sundance and has now been honoured with a Special Mention from this jury.

It’s worth mentioning that the feature film script readings are due to take place between May and end-August, and will be contested by Jean-Baptiste Durand’s Chien de la casse [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (a project steered by Insolence Productions), Lucas Gloppe’s Faire feu (Chaz Productions) and Dania Reymond-Boughenou’s Les tempêtes (Les films de l’autre cougar).

The list of winners is as follows:

European Feature Films

Jury Grand Prize
Ibrahim [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Samir Guesmi (France)

Diagonales Jury Grand Prize
Petit Samedi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paloma Sermon Daï
film profile] - Paloma Sermon-Daï (Belgium)

Jury Special Mention
The Earth is Blue as an Orange [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Iryna Tsilyk
film profile] - Iryna Tsilyk (Ukraine/Lithuania)

European and French Short Films

Jury Grand Prize – European Short Films
Staying - Zillah Bowes (UK)

Jury Grand Prize – French Short Films
Trona Pinnacles - Mathilde Parquet

Special Mention – European Short Films
Mosaic - Imge and Sine Özbilge (Belgium)

Special Mention – French Short Films
My Own Landscapes - Antoine Chapon

Best Performance – French Short Films
Lua Michel in Palma by Alexe Poukine

Best Performance – French Short Films
Dustin Muchuvitz in Dustin by Naïla Guiguet

Student Films

Jury Grand Prize
I Want To Return, Return, Return - Elsa Rosengren (Germany)

Special Jury Award
Spaces - Nora Štrbová (Czech Republic)

Animated Films

Jury Grand Prize
The Lost Wedding Ring - Elisabeth Jakobi (Germany) (short film)

Jury Special Mention
Easter Eggs - Nicolas Keppens (Belgium/France/The Netherlands) (short film)

Other Awards

Activités sociales de l’énergie Award – European Feature Films
Digger [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Georgis Grigorakis
film profile] - Georgis Grigorakis (Greece/France)

Young Film Lovers Award – French Short Films
Trona Pinnacles - Mathilde Parquet

Young Film Lovers Special Mention – French Short Films
Dustin - Naïla Guiguet

Librarians Award – European or French Short Films
Dustin - Naïla Guiguet (France)

Arte Award – Animated First Films
Les yeux grands ouverts - Laura Passalacqua (France) (short film)

Extra Court Award – Animated Films
Cante - Teresa Baroet (Estonia) (short film)

(Translated from French)