 Noël Mitrani |
«Vous allez voir, c'est très bien pour les Québécois» m'avait annoncé discrètement Jacqueline Brodie en m'invitant à la rejoindre à la table du jury de la FIPRESCI, présidé par Klaus Eder, lors du brunch de la remise des prix du Festival International du Film de Toronto qui avait lieu samedi à l'hôtel Hilton. Comme vous l'annonçait ce cher DannyBoy, après avoir eu l'honneur de présenter Le Rouge au sol , seul film québécois présenté à Sundance en janvier dernier, Maxime Giroux a reçu le prix du meilleur court métrage pour Les Jours. Pour sa part, Noël Mitrani, sans doute le plus expressif des gagnants ce jour-là, a raflé le prix du meilleur premier long métrage canadien pour Sur la trace d'Igor Rizzi . «On était fiers d'aller le présenter à Venise, mais un prix à Toronto. wow!» s'est exclamé le jeune réalisateur. «Le film sortira cet hiver» a dit posément Pascal Maeder d'Atopia. Voici le communiqué du TIFF annonçant les autres prix:
TakvaSWAROVSKI CULTURAL INNOVATION AWARD The inaugural Swarovski Cultural Innovation Award honours the artistry, innovation and audacity of one of the Festival's inventive Visions titles as selected by an international industry jury of major visual artists. This year's award goes to Özer Kiziltan's TAKVA – A MAN'S FEAR OF GOD (Turkey/Germany), which follows a 45-year-old single man whose core belief in – and fear of – God is put to the test. The jury consists of acclaimed London based multi-media performance artist Beth Derbyshire, provocative filmmake r and photographer Olivo Barbieri, and renowned Copenhagen-based artist Jesper Just. Honourable mention goes to Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth's KHADAK (Belgium/Germany/The Netherlands). The award offers a $10,000 cash prize.
BellaPEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD The People's Choice Award is voted on by Festival audiences. This year's award goes to BELLA (USA), written and directed by Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, which tells the story of two individuals whose lives converge and turn upside down on a single day in New York City. Honourable mentions go to first runner-up, Patrice Leconte's MON MEILLEUR AMI (France), and second runner-up, Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck's DIXIE CHICKS: SHUT UP AND SING (USA).
RepriseDIESEL DISCOVERY AWARD Joachim Trier's REPRISE (Norway) is the recipient of the DIESEL Discovery award. A comedic portrayal of two young men whose shared dream of becoming a writer is trampled upon by the harsh face of reality, REPRISE is Trier's feature filmmaking debut. The Festival press corps, which consists of more than 900 international media, voted on the DIESEL Discovery Award. The award offers a $10,000 cash prize.
D.O.A.P.PRIZE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRITICS (FIPRESCI PRIZE) The Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI Prize) is awarded to Gabriel Range's DEATH OF A PRESIDENT (United Kingdom) "for the audacity with which it distorts reality to reveal a larger truth." This prize is annually bestowed upon a feature film directed by an emerging filmmaker, and making its world premiere at the Festival. The Festival welcomed an international FIPRESCI jury for the 15th consecutive year. The 2006 jury consists of jury president Klaus Eder (Germany), Géza Csá kvári (Hungary), Esin Kücüktepepinar (Turkey), Oscar Peyrou (Spain), and Norman Wilner (Canada).
Sur la trace d'Igor RizziCITYTV AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FIRST FEATURE FILM The Citytv Award for Best Canadian First Feature goes to Noël Mitrani for SUR LA TRACE D'IGOR RIZZI. Laurent Lucas stars as Jean-Marc Thomas, a former professional soccer player who leaves his native France for Montréal in search of solace and comfort after the death of his Québécois ex-girlfriend. Turning to petty crime in order pay the bills, his life continues to spiral downward to the point where he accepts a job as a hitman. Established by sponsor Citytv, the award carries a cash prize of $15,000. The jury said of SUR LA TRACE D'IGOR RIZZI: "It is a rare treat when a new director's debut embraces the medium with such originality; a truly cinematic meeting of style and substance [in which] dubious characters [are] in an unforgiving landscape consumed by a perversely romantic pursuit, wrapped in unique wit and a compassionate eye."
Manufactured LandscapesTORONTO-CITY AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FEATURE FILM The Toronto-City Award for Best Canadian Feature Film goes to Jennifer Baichwal's compelling documentary MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES, a portrait of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. Baichwal and artistic collaborator and cinematographer Peter Mettler follow the much acclaimed Burtynsky while he travels the globe shooting landscapes transformed through commercial recycling,
