South African film wins top prize at Neuchâtel festival

Winning film: director Nico Scheepers. Keystone-SDA

The 25th edition of the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) ended on Saturday with the jury awarding top prize to Hen by South African filmmaker Nico Scheepers.

As the NIFFF wroteExternal link, the jury found Hen to be a “striking portrayal of an insidious evil that takes hold of a devout community against an apocalyptic backdrop, brought to life by remarkably skillful direction and the unforgettable perspective of a young boy”.

The international competition was judged by Spanish director Eugenio Mira, Berlinale critic Jessica Kiang, and French director Julia Kowalski. Geneva-based comic book artist Frederik Peeters and Swiss director Simon Jaquemet were also members of the jury.

Other winners

Breeder by US-Canadian Alex Goyette received a special mention, as well as an award from the Critics’ Jury. The Best Production Design award went to Sleep No More by Indonesian director Edwin.

The audience gave the RTS Prize to Hokum by Damian McCarthy from Ireland. In the Asian competition, the audience also gave a resounding thumbs-up to My Daughter Is a Zombie by South Korean filmmaker Pil Gam-sung.

The Indian director S. S. Rajamouli, the French filmmaker Bertrand Mandico and the British author Samantha Shannon were guests of honour at the NIFFF, and all received special awards at the opening ceremony.

In total, the festival screened 129 films from 33 countries this year. Organisers estimate that some 61,000 people attended, down from 66,000 last year. The festival wrapped up on Saturday with a screening of Colony by Korean director Yeon Sang-ho.

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Translated from French, reviewed by an English Department journalist.