After several hours of viewing and energetic deliberations, the juries of Festival REGARD’s 21st edition have announced the winners of the various prizes at Hôtel Chicoutimi on Sunday, March 19th. In total, 11 prizes and 3 special mentions have been awarded, for a total of over $72,000 in grants and services.
PROFESSIONAL JURY
The Professional Jury of the Festival’s 21st edition is made of Samuel Archibald, Céline Bonnier, Stéphane Crête, Ina Pira, and David Uloth. This year, the film Home, by Daniel Mulloy, wins the International Award, accompanied by a $5,000 grant, given by Promotion Saguenay. A special mention is also made for Dekalb Elementary, from the American director Reed Van Dyk. As for the National Award, it is given to the film Mon dernier été, by Paul-Claude Demers. He is awarded a $3,000 grant and $15,000 in creative services, offered by Département Caméra/Cinépool and Technicolor. As the Head of Programming Mélissa Bouchard recalls ‘’ the National and International awards give the winners a chance to be considered in the selection process of the OSCARS for best Live Action Short Film.“
The prize for Best Direction – Quebec is given to Maxime Aubert’s La course navette. He is given $2,000 in cash, offered by the Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec (ARRQ) and Post-Moderne, as well as $10,000 in services, given by Post-Moderne. The prize for Best Canadian Script – French Language is given to Émilie Rosas’ Comme les dinosaures. She will receive a $1,000 grant, offered by SARTEC.
The Best Documentary Award, which is worth $1,000 in cash and is offered by the Caisse de la culture, is given to the director Colin Nixon, for his film Le cri de la marmotte. In the Best Animated Film category, the short film Cipka, by Renata Gasiorowska, has distinguished itself. The director will receive a $1,000 prize in cash and $1,000 in services for training at École NAD, a reward given by UQAC and École NAD.
JURIES FIPRESCI AND AQCC
New this year, The International Critics Award FIPRESCI is given to the movie Une autre, by the director Nils Caneele. This year, the jury made of members of the International Federation of Film Critics, was hosting the critics Jake Howell (Canada), Gerald Peary (USA), and Denis Vetter (Germany). Given by the Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma (AQCC), and accompanied by a $500 grant in cash, the Quebec Critics Award is given to the movie Import, by the Dutch director Ena Sendijaveric. A special mention by the Critics Jury AQCC is also given to Happy End, by the Czech director Jan Saska. The AQCC jury is made of the critics and movie commentators of Quebec cinema Louise-Véronique Sicotte, Mathieu Li-Goyette, and Pierre Pageau.
JURY SHOOT NO MATTER WHAT! AND AUDIENCE JURY
Rewarding an independent film, the Award Shoot No Matter What! is given to the director Justin Richard-Dostie, for his film Quand je serai parti. He is given a $5,000 grant in cash, for the production and the purchase of another short film, a prize given by Unis TV, as well as $15,000 for equipment rental, thanks to Spira. A special mention has also been given to the director Tim Tracy, for DataMine. The films being also available until Saturday, March 18th, the Web users have been invited to vote for their favourites. This year, Vie d’ruelles, by Ara Ball has been chosen. The jury Shoot No Matter What! is made of Pierre Gang, Daniel Ebner and Sanghoon Lee.
Intending to represent the cinephiles of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, the Audience jury is made of Olivier Dupont, Virginie Gagnon and Alicia Martel. The Audience Award, which is worth $1,000 in cash and given by Super Écran is given to La laine sur le dos, by the director Lofti Achour. The Regional Creativity Grant, which is $500 offered by Énergie 94.5 and $10,000 in creative services offered by La Bande Sonimage, is given to the short film Le silence fait peur aux brutes by Étienne Boulanger.
YOUNG CINEPHILES JURY DANS DE L'ÂME À L'ÉCRAN JURY
Given for a second year, the Award for best youth short film is awarded to the film Vaysha l’aveugle, by Theodore Ushev. The filmmaker is given a grant of $1000 in cash, given by the Régie du cinéma du Québec. The Young Cinephiles Jury is made of Mégane Fillion-Tremblay, Béatrice Fortin and Gabrielle Dion-Perron.
Among the movies submitted to the concours intercollégial de court métrage De l’âme à l’écran, the Award has been given to Correspondances, by Claire Stenel, a student from Cégep de Rivière-du-Loup. The prize is offered thanks to the support of the Régie du cinéma. The Jury De l’âme à l’écran is made up of Mélanie Charbonneau, Hervé Demers and Félix-Antoine Tremblay.