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CINÉMA DU RÉEL 2021 Awards

The Cinéma du Réel Festival crowns Martin Verdet and Ephraim Asili its champions

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- The Inventory Will Be Drawn Up At 11a.m. In The Presence Of The Poet’s Wife wins the French competition while the US-directed feature film dominates the international selection

The Cinéma du Réel Festival crowns Martin Verdet and Ephraim Asili its champions
The Inventory Will Be Drawn Up At 11a.m. In The Presence Of The Poet’s Wife by Martin Verdet

Composed of Rémi Bonhomme (artistic director of the Marrakech Film Festival) and filmmakers Yolande Zauberman, Hassen Ferhani, Laetitia Moreau and Juruna Mallon, the Feature Films Jury of the 43rd Cinéma du Réel Film Festival (which unspooled online) has named the first feature film of US director Ephraim Asili, The Inheritance, its victor within the international competition. The title interlaces the histories of the West Philadelphia–based MOVE Organization and of the Black Arts Movement with dramatizations of the filmmaker’s life when he was a member of a black activist collective.

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The Institut Français - Louis Marcorelles Prize for Best Film in the French selection went to The Inventory Will Be Drawn Up At 11a.m. In The Presence Of The Poet’s Wife by Martin Verdet. This documentary unfolds in the study of the poet and radio producer Franck Venaille which is slowly being emptied of its contents. Micha Venaille and Martin Verdet come across countless recordings of Venaille’s voice, at which point the study becomes a stage for the many things which shouldn’t happen in a dead man’s room. The film is produced by Gaël Teicher on behalf of La Traverse, together with Antropy.

In terms of the 8th edition of the work-in-progress event, organised as part of the professional ParisDOC sidebar, Brazza by French director Antoine Boutet (Sud Eau Nord Déplacer [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
) - of which 21 minutes were screened – was the project to scoop itself an award. Currently in the shooting and editing phase, this documentary produced by Julie Paratian on behalf of Sister Productions takes us to the heart of a wasteland in its final throes. 53 hectares of “negotiated urban land” are to be transformed into an eco-friendly district – an extensive real estate programme in keeping with the times. Chronicling a wasteland undergoing transformation, Brazza scrutinises the declaration of a “new art of living” amidst this harsh landscape. Mud oozes out from beneath glossy words and promising mock-ups, squatters worm their way in, and frogs become restless, forcing promoters and architects to redraw maps and plans. Arousing both desire and apprehension, the successive states of the landscape, as it changes over the years, offer a glimpse at a possible future city…

The list of winners is as follows:

Feature Films Jury

Cinéma du Réel Grand Prize
The Inheritance - Ephraim Asili (USA)

Institut Français - Louis Marcorelles Prize
The Inventory Will Be Drawn Up At 11a.m. In The Presence Of The Poet’s Wife - Martin Verdet (France)

International SCAM Prize
Odoriko - Yoichiro Okutani (Japan/USA/France)

Best Original Score
Rock Bottom Riser – Fern Silva (USA)

Short Films and First Films Jury

Best Short Film
Random Patrol – Yohan Guignard (France)
Special Mention
Nightvision - Clara Claus (France)

Loridan Ivens /CNAP Prize
Feast [+see also:
trailer
interview: Tim Leyendekker
film profile
]
- Tim Leyendekker (Netherlands)
Special Mention
Dear Hacker – Alice Lenay (France)

Tënk Prize
Un mal sous son bras – Marie Ward (France)

Other Awards

Cinéma du Réel Young Jury Award
Delphine’s Prayers - Rosine Mbakam (Belgium/Cameroon)

Special Mention 
Taming the Garden [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Salomé Jashi
film profile
]
- Salomé Jashi (Switzerland/Germany/Georgia)

First Window Audience Award
Wadi Jhannam - Zoé Filouxa

Libraries Award
Landscapes of Resistance [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marta Popivoda
film profile
]
- Marta Popivoda (Serbia/France)

Intangible Cultural Heritage Award
Odoriko - Yoichiro Okutani

ParisDOC

Studio Orlando Favourite Film
Brazza - Antoine Boutet

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(Translated from French)

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