Xavier Dolan’s “J’ai tué ma mère” (“I Killed My Mother”) wins the Bayard d’Or for best film at the International Francophone Film Festival (FIFF) in Namur, Belgium

Monday, October 12, 2009

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“J’ai tué ma mère” won honours not only for best film, but also for best actress (Anne Dorval) and best début.

Loupe

FIFF’s managing director Nicole Gilet and president Jean-Louis Close at the closing ceremony of the 24th edition of the Festival.

This first feature-length film by Québec director Xavier Dolan, 20, recounts the story of 16-year-old Hubert Minel, who has come to detest his mother. Disturbed by the hatred he feels, Hubert tries in vain to rebuild their once harmonious relationship. The cast includes Anne Dorval, Suzanne Clément, François Arnaud, Patricia Tulasne, Niels Schneider and Monique Spaziani.

In September, the film won a Golden Puffin at the Reykjavik International Film Festival. In May, it won three awards at the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. It was also selected as Canada’s entry in the Best Foreign-Language Film category for the March 2010 Academy Awards.

Two other Québec films won awards in Namur: Denis Villeneuve’s “Polytechnique”, which won the Bayard d’Or for best cinematography, and Émile Proulx-Cloutier’s “La vie commence” (“Life Begins”), a short film that won the Jury Prize in the international short-film category.

A total of 14 feature-length films were in the running at the 24th edition of the Namur Festival, which is renowned for its convivial atmosphere. The event was attended by some 400 guests and more than 300 journalists from around the French-speaking world. Over the years, the Festival has become the must-attend gathering of cinema professionals—producers, financiers, directors and screenwriters—seeking to sign co-production agreements and launch new projects.

Complete list of award winners