Final Press Release - Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur

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PRESS RELEASE I 13th NOVEMBER 2011
Grand Prize of the International Short Film
Festival Winterthur goes to a story about
refugees
With his film BRÛLEURS, Farid Bentoumi has won the Grand Prize at the 15 th
International Short Film Festival Winterthur. The jury has awarded the prize for the Best
Swiss Film to Fabio Friedli for his animated film BON VOYAGE. Both films deal with
human migration. The 15 th year of the Short Film Festival again saw an increase in
attendees – with 15,500 visitors, the festival has set a new record.
Both of this year’s festival competition winners devoted their films to the issue of
transcontinental human migration. The jury has awarded the Grand Prize of the 15 th
International Short Film Festival Winterthur, in the amount of CHF 12,000, to BRÛLEURS, by
Farid Bentoumi. The film deals with the flight of five young Algerians across the Mediterranean
towards Europe. This both moving and humorous film especially captivated the jury in its fresh
take on a subject that is both current and ubiquitous.
The Promotional Award of the International Competition for talented new directors, with a prize
of CHF 10,000, goes to THREESOME, by Johannes Dullin. The jury terms the film as a visual
curiosity; a pornographic pastiche in which the protagonists manage to keep their clothes on.
The filmmakers bridge a gap between art film and performance in a way that makes us laugh.
The film MWANSA THE GREAT by Zambian director Rungano Nyoni receives a special
mention by the jury.
The jury has awarded the prize for Best Swiss Film in the amount of CHF 8,000 to Fabio Friedli
for his animated film BON VOYAGE. With sketchy images, the film describes a deadly trip taken
by dozens of migrants towards Europe. In their statement, the jury declared they were
impressed by both its humour and the fact that it did not pass judgement in dealing with this
complex subject.
The Swiss Cinematography Award in the amount of CHF 8,000 goes to Gabriel Lobos for his
work in the film LE DÉBUT DE LA FIN by Jean-François Vercasson.

The festival audience had a favourite again this year, voting to give the CHF 10,000 Audience
Prize to LAS PALMAS, by Swedish director Johannes Nyholm. All together, this year’s
competition distributed prizes totalling CHF 48,000.
The prize for the best Swiss Film School Film, in the amount of CHF 5,000, was already handed
out on Thursday. This also went to Fabio Friedli and his film, BON VOYAGE. The Shortrun
Award, which is given outside the competition for the most promising screenplay, goes to Thaïs
Odermatt for her project KURT UND DIE SESSELBAHN. The award includes post-production
services in the amount of CHF 12,000.
VISITOR RECORD I EXTENSION OF THE FESTIVAL
This year, the International Short Film Festival Winterthur was again able to show that an
ambitious programme can reach a very broad audience. 15,500 film fans visited the festival – a
significant new record! Especially gratifying was the great success of the Africa is… programme,
which highlighted films from throughout that continent. The attendance of a record number of
filmmakers and industry representatives, as well as the very positive feedback received on the
various interactive and networking events shows that the Short Film Festival is gaining
increasingly central importance as a platform for the industry.
Due to the consistent increase in visitors, next year the festival will be extended by one day. The
16 th International Short Film Festival Winterthur will now take place over six days instead of five,
from 6 th to 11 th November, 2012.
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INTERNATIONALE KURZFILMTAGE WINTERTHUR
STEIGGASSE 2, 8402 WINTERTHUR
9. – 13. NOVEMBER 2011
MEDIENKONTAKTE
DAVID TADDEO, +41 79 577 67 52
SIMON JÄGGI, +41 79 468 21 09
MEDIA@KURZFILMTAGE.CH
WWW.KURZFILMTAGE.CH