DE CINEMA - ANTWERP
7 - 10 NOVEMBER 2024
2020
BEST FICTION:
'NESTING'
Alex Verhaest
The jury about 'Nesting': " The visual artist's calculated eye is palpable in every scene and every shot of 'Nesting'. Verhaest creates a world that does justice to Belgian surrealism, from the beautiful lighting and the tight compositions to the claustrophobically escalating sound design and of course the special acting performances - characters that literally have their corners cut off. The film feels somewhere between Delvaux and 'Room 104', and never makes a mistake."
BEST DOCUMENTARY:
'RAINBOW CHILDREN - PORTRAIT OF ELIKA'
Maryam Bayani
The jury on 'Rainbow Children': " A multi-layered portrait of identity. Using children is always a crowd pleaser, but Bayani does not fall into the trap of clichés and brings us a study that is nuanced: at times a terrifying foreshadowing of how we create "the other" from the very youngest age, at other times heartwarming, thanks to the film's star, Elika, with whom it is impossible not to connect."
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BEST ANIMATION:
'SOUS LES PINS'
Sebastien Baillou
The jury on 'Sous les pins': " What starts as a family outing with a nod to the magic that only children can create, in the vein of Hayao Miyazaki's 'My Neighbour Totoro' or 'Spirited Away', ends as a personal story of loss. Baillou does this in a pictorial style that makes him immediately recognisable, deceptively simple, full of life and nuance, a form that in some ways works against the story and therefore makes it more effective."
AUDIENCE AWARD:
'HERE.'
Joy Maurits
Here. At the local sports hall in Bazel (BE), young people learn not only to walk within the lines but also to explore these boundaries. A portrait of the open-mindedness of girls and boys who, each with their own world, come together in this microcosm and seek connection.
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NO FILM SCHOOL:
'THE LOST PARACOSMIST'
Josephina Van De Water
The jury about 'The Lost Paracosmist': " Just like 'Sous les pins', 'The Lost Paracosmist' is instantly recognizable. Van De Waters' modern fable is somewhere between Raoul Servais and hand-stenciled early cinema. The story is told in a beautiful and unique way, each image is both a sculpture and a painting in itself .
PRESS AWARD:
'DON'T LOOK BACK'
Nancy Van Beersel
The story of this leg animation is based on 'Berenice', a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. A man with a fetish for sickly women falls for the seriously ill Berenice. He becomes obsessed with her teeth and after her death he breaks open her grave to recover her dentures. The song 'Don't look Back' by (ex-classmate) Kyoko fits perfectly.
An honourable mention went to 'Landscape is Hunter' by Simon Debbaut-L'Ecluse.