Winning Films

Jurytext: Jury Award Flemish Competition - Best Acting: Voor de generositeit in zijn spel, die haaks tegenover de gierigheid van zijn personage staat, en een onnavolgbare spitsvondigheid, gaat de prijs voor Beste Acteur in de Vlaamse competitie naar Thierry Hellin in May Day. For his generous acting that directly opposes the character's greed, and an inimitable subtlety, the prize for Best Actor in the Flemish competition goes to Thierry Hellin in May Day. Jury Award Flemish Competition Fiction: By creating a 21st century Parable, these directors tell, what seems to be, a simple story. This story is extremely well executed and told in a very intelligent way, with the focus on the human condition. Added with the Babylonian confusion of speech, this story is translated to a very relevant Belgian situation. Yet, the originality and power of the script transcends the anecdotic and takes it to a universal level. The directing leads to very well dosed and true to life performances that make this film, from the humble opinion of the jury, to be the best film in this year’s selection. Special Mention Press Award Flemish Competition Fiction Een Speciale Vermelding gaat naar ‘May Day’ van Fedrik De Beul en Olivier Magis omwille van het originele idee, de frisse satirische benadering en de uitstekende vertolkingen. In slechts een paar minuten wordt op een grappige manier uit de doeken gedaan hoe solliciteren kan uitmonden in een absurde situatie. Seulement à Bruxelles.

Jurytext: One of the hardest things to do, in any medium, is comedy. Humour is often thought to be universal, but it takes a very delicate touch to make it work. And when someone makes it work as seemingly effortless as this film does, we tend to forget how hard it actually is. It is even harder when you’re trying to use comedy as a means of commenting on the society you live in. And harder still when you’re trying to balance funny dialogue with equally funny visuals. My fellow jury members and I felt that there was one film that completely succeeds in this ‘mission impossible’. For its dry wit, its warmhearted comedy and its wonderful imagery we would like to award Graduation ’97.

Jurytext: We have chosen a film that is mature, subtle and understated. In the competitive environment of short film making, where your ‘mission’ will often be to try to stand out, choosing subtlety is a bold choice to make. A choice that can only be made when you’re very sure of the story you want to tell, and equally sure of how you want to tell it. The film we have picked seems very sure of both those things. It wraps an entire family history and a world of hidden feelings in just a couple of lines of expertly written dialogue, but it also knows when, and how, to switch to purely visual storytelling. For all of those reasons, and because after only 22 minutes we all felt a certain wetness in the corner of our eyes, we want to award Le bleu blanc rouge de mes cheveux.

Jurytext: For the intimate portrait of femininity and an outstanding photography that reveals a great sensitivity from the director and her subjects. Is not just a good film but also a necessary one for the times we live in.

Jurytext: Jury Award Flemish Competition - Best Acting: Voor de generositeit in zijn spel, die haaks tegenover de gierigheid van zijn personage staat, en een onnavolgbare spitsvondigheid, gaat de prijs voor Beste Acteur in de Vlaamse competitie naar Thierry Hellin in May Day. For his generous acting that directly opposes the character's greed, and an inimitable subtlety, the prize for Best Actor in the Flemish competition goes to Thierry Hellin in May Day. Jury Award Flemish Competition Fiction: By creating a 21st century Parable, these directors tell, what seems to be, a simple story. This story is extremely well executed and told in a very intelligent way, with the focus on the human condition. Added with the Babylonian confusion of speech, this story is translated to a very relevant Belgian situation. Yet, the originality and power of the script transcends the anecdotic and takes it to a universal level. The directing leads to very well dosed and true to life performances that make this film, from the humble opinion of the jury, to be the best film in this year’s selection. Special Mention Press Award Flemish Competition Fiction Een Speciale Vermelding gaat naar ‘May Day’ van Fedrik De Beul en Olivier Magis omwille van het originele idee, de frisse satirische benadering en de uitstekende vertolkingen. In slechts een paar minuten wordt op een grappige manier uit de doeken gedaan hoe solliciteren kan uitmonden in een absurde situatie. Seulement à Bruxelles.

Jurytext: Jury Award Flemish Competition - Best Acting: Voor de generositeit in zijn spel, die haaks tegenover de gierigheid van zijn personage staat, en een onnavolgbare spitsvondigheid, gaat de prijs voor Beste Acteur in de Vlaamse competitie naar Thierry Hellin in May Day. For his generous acting that directly opposes the character's greed, and an inimitable subtlety, the prize for Best Actor in the Flemish competition goes to Thierry Hellin in May Day. Jury Award Flemish Competition Fiction: By creating a 21st century Parable, these directors tell, what seems to be, a simple story. This story is extremely well executed and told in a very intelligent way, with the focus on the human condition. Added with the Babylonian confusion of speech, this story is translated to a very relevant Belgian situation. Yet, the originality and power of the script transcends the anecdotic and takes it to a universal level. The directing leads to very well dosed and true to life performances that make this film, from the humble opinion of the jury, to be the best film in this year’s selection. Special Mention Press Award Flemish Competition Fiction Een Speciale Vermelding gaat naar ‘May Day’ van Fedrik De Beul en Olivier Magis omwille van het originele idee, de frisse satirische benadering en de uitstekende vertolkingen. In slechts een paar minuten wordt op een grappige manier uit de doeken gedaan hoe solliciteren kan uitmonden in een absurde situatie. Seulement à Bruxelles.

Jurytext: For creating an authentic story of a powerful friendship between a group of abandoned kids in such an effortless way, filled with emotions. For maintaining a vulnerable yet unique atmosphere on set achieved by impressive camerawork and great acting.

Jurytext: Het verhaal van twee angstige Vlaamse twintigers die elkaar kruisen in de hel van Syrië en het labyrint van hun twijfelend brein steunt op originele visuele ideeën, een gedurfde en krachtige gedramatiseerde climax en knap camerawerk. Het was de meest filmische uit de selectie en dus heeft de jury er niet heel lang over gedaan om tot een overeenstemming te komen. We verwachten dat Senne Dehandschutter een mooie toekomst tegemoet gaat.

Jurytext: For creating a very strong portrait of a dysfunctional father-son relationship within different generations this director shows once more that he is extremely talented. His directing results in one of the most powerful performances of this year’s selection. The cinematography transcends this well told touching story to a very strong and emotional short film. Confident that this director will find his way, we give him a special mention to encourage the director to make his first feature film.

Jurytext: Jury Award Flemish Competition - Best Acting: Voor de generositeit in zijn spel, die haaks tegenover de gierigheid van zijn personage staat, en een onnavolgbare spitsvondigheid, gaat de prijs voor Beste Acteur in de Vlaamse competitie naar Thierry Hellin in May Day. For his generous acting that directly opposes the character's greed, and an inimitable subtlety, the prize for Best Actor in the Flemish competition goes to Thierry Hellin in May Day. Jury Award Flemish Competition Fiction: By creating a 21st century Parable, these directors tell, what seems to be, a simple story. This story is extremely well executed and told in a very intelligent way, with the focus on the human condition. Added with the Babylonian confusion of speech, this story is translated to a very relevant Belgian situation. Yet, the originality and power of the script transcends the anecdotic and takes it to a universal level. The directing leads to very well dosed and true to life performances that make this film, from the humble opinion of the jury, to be the best film in this year’s selection. Special Mention Press Award Flemish Competition Fiction Een Speciale Vermelding gaat naar ‘May Day’ van Fedrik De Beul en Olivier Magis omwille van het originele idee, de frisse satirische benadering en de uitstekende vertolkingen. In slechts een paar minuten wordt op een grappige manier uit de doeken gedaan hoe solliciteren kan uitmonden in een absurde situatie. Seulement à Bruxelles.

Jurytext: For creating an authentic story of a powerful friendship between a group of abandoned kids in such an effortless way, filled with emotions. For maintaining a vulnerable yet unique atmosphere on set achieved by impressive camerawork and great acting.