Chilean film Las Cosas Simples wins at Clermont

Las Cosas Simples, from Chilean director Alvaro Anguita, has walked away with the Grand Prix for Best International Short Film at this year’s edition of the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. The follows Penelope, a civil servant who lives with her mother, who has Alzheimer's. One day she meets Ulises, a poor old man who has lost his memory and his identity papers. She convinces him that he is her father and he must come home to take care of his wife.

The Special Jury Prize went to Austrian/German co-production film Die Badewanne (Dir. Tim Ellrich) a piece about three brother who use a family photograph to get back to their idealised pasts while special mentions went to  Uzak mı... (Dir. Leyla Toprak, Turkey) and Panorama (Dir. Virginia Urreiztieta, Venezuela)

The audience prize went to Madam Black (Dir. Ivan Barge, New Zealand). The comic Antipodean short - about a man who runs over a cat and convinces her young owner that she’s still alive by sending her postcards from across the world – proved popular not only for its humour but also for the fact that Barge was a fixture at the festival, carrying around a stuffed cat of which many photos were taken.

Other prizes went to Dernière porte au sud (Dir. Sacha Feiner, Belgium/France) for Best Animation, and Babor Casanova (Dir. Karim Sayad, Algeria/Switzerland) for Best Student work.

The 2016 Clermont nomination for the European Film Awards went to In the Distance (Dir. Florian Grolig, Germany) an animation in which the peace and quiet above the clous is disturbed by the sounds of an oncoming war.

The International Jury was made up of Arta Dobroshi (Actress/Producer, Kosovo), JH Engström (Photographer, Sweden), Paz Fabrega (Film Director/Scriptwriter/Producer, Costa Rica), Riccardo Guasco (Painter/Illustrator, Italy) and Patrick Wang (Film Director/ Actor/ Scriptwriter/Producer/Writer, USA)

In the festival’s Lab section, Eden's Edge (Three shorts on the Californian Desert) (Dir. Leo Calice/ Gerhard Treml, Austria) took the Grand Prix. The film is a series of bird's-eye-views of minimalistic scenes meticulously arranged in gray desert sands. The Special Jury prize went to Hotaru (Dir. William Laboury, France)

The Lab Audience Award went to Ghost Cell (Dir. Antoine Delacharlery, France), an animation that re-imagines Paris as a cell seen through a virtual microscope.

The Lab Jury was made up of Cascadeur (Artist/Musician, France), Eileen Hofer (Filmmaker / Journalist, Switzerland) and Kleber Mendonça Filho (Film Director, Brazil)

 In the National Competition, the Grand Prix went to Les Amours Vertes (Dir. Marine Atlan), a product of the famous La Femis film school in France

The National Competition jury was made up of Leyla Bouzid (Filmmaker/Scriptwriter, Tunisia/France), Guillaume Brac (Director, France), Emilie Brisavoine (Film Director / Actress, France), Philippe Faucon (Film Director / Scriptwriter, France) and Dom La Nena (Singer/Musician/Composer,Brazil/France)

The full list of prize winners is:

International Awards

Grand Prix: Las Cosas Simples (Dir.Alvaro Anguita, Chile)

Special Jury Prize: Die Badewanne (Dir. Tim Ellrich, Austria/Germany)

Special Mentions: Uzak mı... (Dir. Leyla Toprak , Turkey), Panorama  (Dir. Virginia Urreiztieta , Venezuela )

Audience Prize: Madam Black (Dir. Ivan Barge, New Zealand)

Award for Best Animation: Dernière porte au sud (Dir.Sacha Feiner, Belgium/ France )

Student Prize: Babor Casanova (Dir. Karim Sayad, Algeria/Switzerland)

Canal+ Award: El Hueco (Dirs. Daniel Martin Rodriguez,& Germán Tejada , Peru )

Nomination European Film Awards: In the Distance (Dir. Florian Grolig, Germany)

Lab Awards

Grand Prix: Eden's Edge (Three shorts on the californian desert) (Dirs. Leo Calice & Gerhard Treml, Austria)

Special Jury Prize: Hotaru (Dir. William Laboury , France)

Special Mentions:  The Reflection of Power (Dir. Mihai Grecu, France)

Audience Prize: Ghost Cell (Dir. Antoine Delacharlery,  France)

Canal+ Award: Greener Grass (Dir. Paul Briganti, USA)

National Awards

Grand Prix: Les amours vertes (Dir. Marine Atlan)

Special Jury Prize: Le repas dominical (Dir. Céline Devaux)

Special Mentions: Fuck l'amour (Dir. François Zabaleta), Le gouffre (Dir. Vincent Le Port), Isabel Pagliai et Julien Guillery pour la photographie de Isabella Morra (Dir. Isabel Pagliai)

Audience Prize: Ennemis intérieurs (Dir. Sélim Azzazi)

ACSE Award: Réplique (Dir. Antoine Giorgini, France/Belgium)

Award for Best Original Score: Pierre Caillet for Dans les eaux profondes (Dir. Sarah Van Den Boom, France/Canada)

Award for Best Photography: Paul Guilhaume for l'ïle jaune (Dirs. Paul Guilhaume and Léa Mysius)

SACD Award for Best French-Speaking Animation: Le repas dominical (Dir. Céline Devaux)

SACD Award for Best First Live Action Short: Au bruit des clochettes (Dir. Chabname Zariab, France/Tunisia)

Adami Award for Best Actress: Florence Fauquet in Une sur trois (Dir. Cecilia de Arce)

Adami Award for Best Actor: Eddy Suiveng in Réplique (Dir. Antoine Giorgini, France/Belgium)

Student Prize: Ennemis intérieurs (Dir. Sélim Azzazi)

Canal+ Award: Fais le mort (Dir. William Laboury)

Télérama Press Prize: Le gouffre  (Dir. Vincent Le Port)

Special Mention of Télérama Press: Réplique (Dir. Antoine Giorgini, France/Belgium)

Fernand Raynaud Award for Best Comedy: Première séance (Dir. Jonathan Borgel)

Procirep's Award for Best Producer: Je Suis Bien Content

Coup de Coeur Canal+ Family: Pourquoi les vaches ont des taches? (Dirs. Nina Degrendel & Soizic Delon)

Prix Orange Brèves Digitales: À géométrie variable (Dir. Marie-Brune de Chassey, Belgium)

Bourse des festivals: La troisième guerre (Dir. Giovanni Aloi,  Bien ou Bien productions)