Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Morocco meets Asia at Brussels fest

The International Festival of Independent Film that closed last Sunday in Brussels confirmed the emergence of Moroccan film, with "Tarfaya" by Daoud Aoulad-Syad picking up the Grand Prix. "Tarfaya" is best described as an end-of-the-road movie. Bittersweet family comedy "Ici et là" (co-written by Mohamed Ismail, Mohamed Mouftakir and Ismaïl Saidi) picked up the Best Screenplay award. The Philippines' Cesar Montano picked up the Jury award for his directing debut in wartime local drama "Panaghoy sa Suba/Call of the River" while Singapore's Eric Khoo was given the Best Director award for his long tone poem, "Be With Me".

Germany was also well represented, with actress Julie Bowe being recognised as Best Actress for her remarkable role in "Katze im Sack/Cat in a Bag". Daniel Stielgitz went home with a Best First Film for the horror/thriller romp "Happy End".

Jean-Marie Buchet picked a screenplay award in the national (Belgian) section for "Une fameuse journée".

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