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Award Winners from 19th FIFOG - 2014
The 9th Edition of FIFOG ended on a high note with the awards ceremony on Saturday, April 12th. It was followed by the last screening day on Sunday. Once again, the festival achieved great success among the public and the media. According to preliminary statistics, FIFOG recorded an increase in public attendance with more than 6500 visitors as well as a strong media presence.
Awards Ceremony
The Awards ceremony took place at the Grütli Cinemas in a festive atmosphere and the guests enjoyed the following performances: "Arab Dance of the Court, an expression form stemming from the golden age of Islam"(Nadia Makhlouf)," Doo Dah "(soul singer),"En corps" (Dance section of the Professional Geneva Centre for Applied arts), and Samia Tawil (soul-rock singer).
In this framework, TAHAR BEN JELLOUN, YVES MAGAT and NASRINE MEDARD DE CHARDON who respectively preside the juries of the competitions in the categories long fictions, documentary films, short fictions revealed the list of prize winners. A Critics Prize was also awarded by a jury composed of three professional film critics.
Great insights into various topics
During the festival, 112 movies from 28 different Oriental and Western countries addressed the topic of the body, both in its individual and social dimensions. In addition, the 9th Edition presented new analytic approaches to the status of women in various countries as well as to the « Arab Spring ». Also, the Syrian cinema was given a central role in the programme.
Conference of Tahar Ben Jelloun and side events
More than sixty high-level guests participated in this edition. Three trainees from Morocco and Tunisia as well as several volunteers had the opportunity to gain enriching and valuable work experience within the motivating context of FIFOG. Last but not least, more than 700 people attented the conference of the famous writer and poet Tahar Ben Jelloun’s at the University of Geneva entitled "The body in the Orient and the West". Other side events such as debates, artistic performances and pedagogic screenings contributed to getting deeper insights into the cinematographic treatment of the body as well as into the changes currently shaping the social bodies in the Orient and their repercussions in the West.
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Competition - Long Fiction
The jury of the long fiction competition is composed of Tahar Ben Jelloun, Honorary President of the festival, Romaine Jean, Sandra Coulibaly Leroy, Rui Nogueira, Lola Peploe.
A FIFOG D’OR is awarded to the movie ROUND TRIP, directed by Meyar Al Roumi.
"With this prize, we wanted to reward a classical but well mastered scenario and a story that raises the audience's empathy. A couple leaves Damascus by train and has for the first time the opportunity to share some intimate moments in a hotel in Tehran. Throughout this story, we discover the social and cultural constraints of a society in which women are often more audacious and courageous than men."
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A FIFOG D’ARGENT is awarded to the movie WAJMA, AN AFGHAN LOVE STORY, directed by Barmak Akram.
"With the prize, we wanted to reward the effective and well filmed denunciation of violence against women in Afghanistan, a country bruised by warfare and fanatism."
A SPECIAL MENTION is given to the movie HALIMA'S PATH by Arsen Anton Ostojic, a complex movie in which women have once again to pay a heavy price.
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Competition - Documentary films
The jury of the Documentary Films Competition is composed of Yves Magat, Alain Jourdan and Silvia Naef.
A FIFOG D’OR is awared to the movie SCHEHERAZADE'S DIARY, directed by Zeina Daccache.
"Through this prize, we wanted to reward the choice of a difficult topic such as the status of women, the originality and the quality of the making and the sensitivity with which the subject was treated."
A FIFOG D’ARGENT is awarded to the movie 1,2,3…5,6,7, directed by Bilel Bali.
"Through this prize, we wanted to reward this unexpected topic related to the evolution of the man-woman relationship and the making’s quality."
A SPECIAL MENTION goes to the documentary NOT WHO WE ARE, directed by Carol Mansour, for the current relevance of the topic and the testimonies' quality.
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Competition - Short Fiction
The jury of the competition short fiction is composed of Nasrine Medard de Chardon, Amanda Homsi-Ottoson, Cicero Egli.
A FIFOG D’OR is awarded to the movie LIPSTICK, directed by Luay Fadhil.
"With the prize, we wanted to reward a non-conventional movie that goes right to the point and surprizes the audience, while sparking more debate at the same time."
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A FIFOG D’ARGENT is awarded to the movie PEAU DE COLLE, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania.
"With this prize, we wanted to reward the technical quality that underlies a pleasant and touching movie with a well-thought scenario."
A MENTION SPECIALE goes to the movie POMEGRANATE IS THE FRUIT OF PARADISE, directed by Teymour Ghaderi, for its modesty and depth.
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Critics Prize
The jury of the Critics Prize, composed of Firouz Elizabeth PILLET, Mina SIDI ALI and Carlos MUHLIG.
The CRITICS PRIZE is awarded to the movie A LADDER TO DAMASCUS, directed by Mohamed Malas.
"With this prize, we wanted to reward the realistic and captivating insight given by Mohamed Malas into the daily life of the Syrian people during the war as well as the actors’play who add an empiric dimension to the movie through improvisation elements."
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A SUPPORT MENTION goes to the movie PARVIZ, directed by Majid Barzegar.
"With this prize, we wanted to reward the subtly portrait, rythmed by the eloquent silences of a man who fulfills the social norms. The director righly highlights the intolerance of a community which apparently lives in harmony".
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Zoomin.TV / FIFOG Prize
The jury of the Zoomin.TV Prize is composed of Sofiane Bouchaïb, Abderrazak Hamouda, Khadidja Bouachrine.
The Zoomin.TV / FIFOG Prize is awarded to the movie BREAKING NEWS, directed by Bagdi Saed for its brilliant insignt into and its denunciation of the atrocities and the violence perpetrated in the context of the Egyptian revolution.
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School Prize of CPAAG
The jury of the School Prize of the Professional Center for Applied Arts of Geneva is composed of students from the 2nd and 3rd years.
A FIFOG D’OR goes to the movie CONDOM LEAD, directed by Mohammed and Ahmad Abunasser. The students appreciated the quality of the movie’s form, especially the framing, the colours and the acting, as well as the poetic, ironic and distressing manner of denuncing the sway of warfare on the bodies’ intimacy.
A FIFOG D’ARGENT goes to the movie J’AIMERAIS QU’ON SEME EN PALESTINE, directed by Christophe Jarosz for its message of peace.
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School Prize of the Cycle d'orientation de la Seymaz
The jury of the School Prize of the cycle d'orientation de la Seymaz is composed of students of the class 1131.
A FIFOG D’OR goes to the movie DESTINO, directed by Zangro.
The students appreciated the originality of the script, especially the fake wedding within an official ceremony, which happens to have very real consequences! Th humor, the differences within a same "oriental culture" and the metalanguage have also captured the jury's attention.
A FIFOG D’ARGENT goes to the movie THE JOURNEY, directed by Hana Makki.
The students appreciated the way relationships -distrust at first which turn to friendship at the end- drive the characters, a young ethiopian immigrant and an indian taxi driver. The simplicity of the staging of this "trip within a trip" helps arousing the emotion of encountering the "other".
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Chatelin Bruno 
