At the 14th annual awards presentation, the UniFrance Short Film Grand Prize (sponsored by UniFrance, TitraFilm, RTI, Movistar+, Le Grand Action Cinema, Transpalux, and Continental Media Assurance) was presented to Veil of Silence by Julie Gourdain.
Award Winners
GRAND PRIZE
Veil of Silence by Julie Gourdain – First film
Fiction – 29'48" – offshore – Ultime Razzia Productions
It's 1968 and Marianne is nineteen years old. She has been sent to a home for young girls, far from her family and friends. Here she meets other girls whose secrets have also turned their lives upside down.
- €2,000 cash prize for the film's producer, including €1,000 in the form of Automatic Aid for Promotion + UniFrance membership offered for 2017
- €500 for the film's director + UniFrance membership offered for 2017
- Continental Media Assurances/SIACI Saint Honoré: €500 in credit for the production of the director's next short film (with the same producer)
- Transpalux: Services provided to the director's next film (with the same producer)
RTI "COUP DE CŒUR" PRIZE
When You Hear the Bells by Chabname Zariâb – First film
Fiction – 25'44" – Les Films du Bal – Godolphin Films S.A.
In Afghanistan, bachas are young male prostitutes obliged to dance, dressed as girls, for male audiences. They are under the control of a master. When You Hear the Bells tells the story of Saman, a bacha, who feels threatened by the arrival of Bijane, a boy younger than him who is destined to take his place. Jealous of this boy, who might steal the feelings and protection of his master Farroukhzad, he is obliged to initiate Bijane and to teach him to dance.
- Acquisition and broadcast on the RTI network
MOVISTAR+ "COUP DE CŒUR" PRIZE
Joint Tenants by Delphine Priet-Mahéo
Animation – 11'25" – Vivement Lundi !
Camille's life is ruled by the dring of her alarm clock each morning, her cat's meals, and the sound of the automatic till in the store where she's a check-out clerk. But, one day, a man enters her home without her knowing and starts living there during the day while she's at work. Little by little, he will unsettle her bearings until he stretches her limits and brings her out of herself.
- Acquisition and broadcast on the MOVISTAR+ network
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Fiction – 18'48" – Deuxième Ligne Films – Wrong Men
Today, Tony is supposed to audition for drama school. But Steven, his best friend and reading partner, doesn’t show up. After trying unsuccessfully to find another volunteer, Tony gives up, determined never to speak to the traitor again.
- €1,000 for the producer in the form of Automatic Aid for Promotion + UniFrance membership offered for 2017
GRAND ACTION "COUP DE CŒUR" PRIZE
Fiction – 18'48" – Deuxième Ligne Films – Wrong Men
- Screening of the film over the period of one week at Le Grand Action cinema in Paris prior to a feature film screening.
Jury
Gathered together in Paris on May 6, the jury of this 14th edition of the award viewed a selection of 17 films:
- Guadalupe Arensburg Caellas, Movistar+ Spanish broadcaster
- Anne Bennet, author of a report on French short films released in 2015
- Julie Gayet, actor and producer
- Isabelle Gibbal-Hardy, director of Le Grand Action cinema in Paris
- Paola Ruggeri, RTI – Italian broadcaster
- Osange Silou-Kieffer, journalist
- Vera Wonder Sölvadóttir, Icelandic director and producer
- Peter Dourountzis, winner of the 2015 UniFrance Grand Prize, with his film Errance
- Matthieu-David Cournot, cinematographer
- Charles Tesson, artistic director of Critics' Week
The UniFrance Short Film Award shines a light on the talent and bold creativity of new generations of film directors and producers. Its single objective is to launch the international careers of short films that have generally not previously been released.
It is with this aim in view that broadcasters, who are strongly aware of the high quality and diversity of French film production, have always supported us with their commitment to acquire and broadcast the short films that they select.
As an essential link between France and the rest of the world, UniFrance has always worked to promote French short films abroad through a range of different activities: promotion aid, travel assistance allowing around 80 French artists to accompany their films to festivals around the world each year, support for distributors, championing French films with festival programmers, developing digital promotional tools including the Short Film Gallery, which at this time includes 2,030 titles, as well as the development of specific initiatives and tailor-made programs offered in the four corners of the world.
Media Gallery
Les lauréates
