Nic Balthazar's Belgium-Netherlands coproduction Ben X was the toast of Montreal as the debut filmmaker took the audience award, the Ecumenical Prize and shared top competition honours with Claude Miller's A Secret as the 31st Montreal World Film Festival wrapped on Monday night.
The story of a young autistic man's struggle to find his place in the world, Ben X clearly struck a chord with Montreal audiences and its jury. Both of the film's screenings were lavished with standing ovations.
Ayelet Menahemi's Israeli title Noodle received a Special Grand Prix of the jury. Noodle has already been selected to represent Israel for next year's foreign-language Academy Award. Emile Gaudreault's Surviving My Mother won the audience award for Canadian feature film.
Best Director honours went to Jacob Berger of Switzerland for 1 Day (1 Journee) while Best Artistic contribution went to Teresa: El Cuerpo De Cristo by Spain's Ray Loriga. Best Actress kudos went to Andrea Sawaktzki for German title The Other Boy by Volker Einrauch while Best Actor was shared by Filipe Duarte and Tomas Almeida for the Portugal-Brazil coproduction A Outra Margem (The Other Side) by Luis Filipe Rocha.
Morocco's Latif Lahlou won the Best Screenplay prize and the FIPRESCI Prize for his Samira's Garden while the Innovation Award was presented to D75-Tartina City, a Chad-France-Morocco coproduction by Issa Serge Coelo.
In the Best First Fiction Feature category the Golden Zenith went to Spain's Juan Carlos Falcon for La Caja (The Wooden Box) followed by the Silver Zenith for Mexico's Simon Bross for Malos Habitos (Bad Habits) and the Bronze to Jian Yi of China for Dong Sun (Bamboo Shoots). Special Mention went to Russia's Khuat Akhmetov for Wind Man.
The Glauber Rocha Award for the Best Latin American Film went to Partes Usadas (Used Parts) by Aaron Fernandez of Mexico while the Best Documentary Award went to Germany's Igor Heitzmann for Nach Der Musik (A Father's Music).
The story of a young autistic man's struggle to find his place in the world, Ben X clearly struck a chord with Montreal audiences and its jury. Both of the film's screenings were lavished with standing ovations.
Ayelet Menahemi's Israeli title Noodle received a Special Grand Prix of the jury. Noodle has already been selected to represent Israel for next year's foreign-language Academy Award. Emile Gaudreault's Surviving My Mother won the audience award for Canadian feature film.
Best Director honours went to Jacob Berger of Switzerland for 1 Day (1 Journee) while Best Artistic contribution went to Teresa: El Cuerpo De Cristo by Spain's Ray Loriga. Best Actress kudos went to Andrea Sawaktzki for German title The Other Boy by Volker Einrauch while Best Actor was shared by Filipe Duarte and Tomas Almeida for the Portugal-Brazil coproduction A Outra Margem (The Other Side) by Luis Filipe Rocha.
Morocco's Latif Lahlou won the Best Screenplay prize and the FIPRESCI Prize for his Samira's Garden while the Innovation Award was presented to D75-Tartina City, a Chad-France-Morocco coproduction by Issa Serge Coelo.
In the Best First Fiction Feature category the Golden Zenith went to Spain's Juan Carlos Falcon for La Caja (The Wooden Box) followed by the Silver Zenith for Mexico's Simon Bross for Malos Habitos (Bad Habits) and the Bronze to Jian Yi of China for Dong Sun (Bamboo Shoots). Special Mention went to Russia's Khuat Akhmetov for Wind Man.
The Glauber Rocha Award for the Best Latin American Film went to Partes Usadas (Used Parts) by Aaron Fernandez of Mexico while the Best Documentary Award went to Germany's Igor Heitzmann for Nach Der Musik (A Father's Music).
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