MATTERHORN by Diederik Ebbinge took the UPC Audience Award and Haifaa Al Mansour’s WADJDA was awarded with the Dioraphte Award for best Hubert Bals Fund-supported film at the 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam. Both awards come with 10,000 Euro prize money.
MATTERHORN tells the tragicomical story of widower Fred (Ton Kas) who leads a lonely life after his wife passed away. His life takes an unexpected turn when a stranger (René van ’t Hof) calls at his doorstep. MATTERHORN is the feature film debut of director Dutch director, Diederik Ebbinge.
The film WADJDA is the story of Wadjda who is 10 years old, lives in Saudi Arabia and wants a green bicycle. Her conservative surroundings think that a girl should not be on a bicycle, but she perseveres. Wadjda stands for many girls and women from Saudi Arabia. The drama offers a glimpse of a society that is otherwise closed, with universal and familiar themes such as hope, courage and perseverance. WADJDA is directed by “taboo-breaking” Haifaa Al Mansour, regarded as the first female filmmaker from Saudi Arabia.