OFFICIAL AWARDS 2016     

Creative documentary Section

The Jury for the international creative documentaries was chaired by Barbara Hendricks alongside Plantu, Philippe Djian, Ece Temelkuran and Daniel Schweizer.

GRAND GENEVA AWARD (CHF 10’000.-)

AMONG THE BELIEVERS 

by Hemal Trivedi et Mohammed Ali Naqvi

A brave documentary that addresses the issue of religious fundamentalism that threatens Pakistani society. A film that addresses the complexity of this issue and shows the gap between these two worlds. Without judging, it leaves room for the viewer to better understand the complexity of this society that is divided between jihad and democracy.

A film about two Islam, the moderate and the radical that divides Pakistan and its consequences.

GILDA VIEIRA DE MELLO award, IN TRIBUTE TO HER SON SERGIO VIEIRA DE MELLO ( CHF 5’000 ) 

HOOLIGAN SPARROW 

by Nanfu Wang

The film of an activist who with great courage and conviction follows the protagonists who symbolize resistance to impunity. An engaged and inventive documentary that closely follows Sparrow, an admirable woman who embodies one of the many faces of the struggle for human rights in China.

SPECIAL JURY AWARD

A SYRIAN LOVE STORY 

by Sean McAllister

The little story in a great history. A grasping film that follows a family, a couple in exodus. Immersed, between confidence and testimony, the director filmed this political and family chronicle over the course of five years. A respectful approach to its protagonists: a couple who gradually unravels because of the war.

YOUNG JURY award (CHF500)

HOOLIGAN SPARROW 

by Nanfu Wang

This film justly marries form and content. It plunged us into a battle against oppression and injustice that will remain with us for a long time. Despite limited resources, this documentary presents rare cinematic qualities and brings beauty where there is none. Jury: Leo Bastianelli, Anjali Bhundia, Charlotte Burnand, Aline Favre, Fabian Menor, Asma Lghazaoui

Fiction and human rights Section

The International Jury Fiction and Human Rights chaired by Nabil Ayouch, alongside Marcela Zamora Chamorro, Aude Py and Philippe Cottier.

GRAND award FOR FICTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS ( CHF 10’000 ) Offered by the Barbour Fondation

ZVIZDAN (The High Sun) 

by Dalibor Matanic

The jury was touched by the universal theme explored in the film. The author has a very original way of talking about hatred and the means to overcome it. The choice to have actors play multiple roles is both intriguing and compelling, and causes a very successful mise en abyme. The jury was particularly sensitive to the balkan anchoring of the story. The quality of directing is undeniable, as well as the interpretation of the actors, especially the actress who plays the different roles of women, Tihana Lazovic.

SPECIAL MENTION

EXPERIMENTER 

by Michael Almereyda

The jury felt the need to point out a special mention to the extreme importance of the subject of Michael Almereyda’s film. What it reveals, despite a plot situated in the sixties, is undeniably contemporary and very subtly questions the foundations of human nature. The aesthetic decisions and the creative aspect of the film wowed the jury.

YOUNG JURY AWARD (CHF 500)

3000 NIGHTS 

by Mai Masri

The youth jury for ction lms chose to reward a film full of poetry despite the violence of the situation that it denounces. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is reflected in a microcosm, in a women’s prison. With a raw and spontaneous camera work, the director reveals to us with force a very current problem and encourages us to refuse to submit to the abuse of an authoritarian and unjust system. In the face of human rights violations, the message is clear: solidarity, resistance !

Jury: Victor Delétraz, Ceylin Gercekci, Luana Iarocci, Dylan Kummli, Samantha Morris, Emma Tjepkema

OMCT Section

Awarded by the Jury of the OMCT attributed to a filmmaker whose film reflects his commitment to human rights, in order to support the writing of his or her next film.

THE WORLD ORGANIZATION AGAINST TORTURE (OMCT) award (CHF 5’000)

VOYAGE EN BARBARIE 

by Delphine Deloget et Cécile Allegra

This film gives a voice for the first time to the nearly 50,000 Eritrean migrants who were in the Sinai desert who suffered abuse for purely economic purposes – crimes that have been tolerated for a longtime by the Egyptian government. It talks about migration, a central challenge of this decade that many see as a societal threat. The use of torture (and other forms of abuse and slavery) on migrants is widespread and poorly documented. It occurs not only in Sinai but also in Libya and elsewhere on the routes most frequently used by migrants. It is also a hopeful film that shows the courage and the incredible resilience of survivors and people working remotely to help them flee, to end the impunity and to obtain redress.

THE CLAIRIÈRE DETENTION CENTER YOUTH JURY 

SPARTIATES 

by Nicolas Wadimoff

A documentary that follows the life of an educator who tirelessly fights with the desire to help young people, despite the fact that there is no way. He helps men and women, black and white, young and old. We also liked the images and the action scenes, when we hear the breathing of the character.