The 35th Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) announced this year’s juried award winners with Four Daughters directed by Kaouther Ben Hania winning the FIPRESCI Prize for Best International Feature Film.
A special jury of international film critics reviewed 41 of the official submissions for the Academy Awards® International Feature Film category that were selected to screen at this year’s Festival.
In a statement, the jury commented, “While digging through the details of the tragic disintegration of a Tunisian family, director Kaouther Ben Hania reclaims the cliché of reenactment and reinvents it, emerging with a powerful account of human complexity. This striking blend of fact, meta-fiction and confessional therapy makes a convincing case for the continued vitality of cinema as an art form.”
The Best Documentary Award, presented to the director for the most compelling non-fiction filmmaking went to Tatiana Huezo for The Echo. The jury commented, “The Echo brings the pleasures of being in the hands of a master filmmaker, whose thoughtful employ of the power of cinema doesn’t overwhelm the material. It brings us closer to the cycles of life and the dawning of maturity in a family and a community.”
Other major prizes including New Voices New Visions Award went to The Animal Kingdom directed by Thomas Cailley; Ibero-American Award went to Power Alley directed by Lillah Halla; Local Jury Award went to Wonderland directed by Chai Yee-Wei; Young Cineastes Award went to Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person directed by Ariane Louis-Seize; and MOZAIK Bridging the Borders Award went to Green Border directed by Agnieszka Holland.
FIPRESCI PRIZE
FIPRESCI Prize for Best International Feature Film: Four Daughters (Tunisia) Director Kaouther Ben Hania
FIPRESCI Prize for Best International Screenplay: The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom) Director Jonathan Glazer
FIPRESCI Prize for the Best Actress in a International Feature Film: Leonie Benesch The Teacher’s Lounge (Germany) Director İlker Çatak
FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actor in an International Feature Film: Mads Mikkelsen The Promised Land (Denmark) Director Nikolaj Arcel
BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Best Documentary Award: The Echo (Mexico/Germany) Director Tatiana Huezo
Best Documentary Award Special Mention: This World is Not My Own (United States/Sweden) Director Petter Ringbom, Marquise Stillwell
NEW VOICES NEW VISIONS AWARD
New Voices New Visions Award: The Animal Kingdom (France) Director Thomas Cailley
New Voices New Visions Special Mention: Animalia (Morocco/Qatar/France) Director Sofia Alaoui
IBERO-AMERICAN AWARD
Ibero-American Award: Power Alley (Brazil/France/Uruguay) Director Lillah Halla (U.S. Premiere)
Ibero-American Special Mention: 20,000 Species of Bees (Spain) Director Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren
LOCAL JURY AWARD
Local Jury Award: Wonderland (Singapore/Malaysia/United States) Director Chai Yee-Wei
YOUNG CINEASTES AWARD
Young Cineastes Award: Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Canada) Director Ariane Louis-Seize
THE MOZAIK BRIDGING THE BORDERS AWARD
MOZAIK Bridging the Borders Award: Green Border (Poland/France/Czech Republic/Belgium) Director Agnieszka Holland
MOZAIK Bridging the Borders Special Mention: The Old Oak (United Kingdom/France/Belgium) Director Ken Loach