“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” wins the ZFF Feature Film Award
Published: Saturday, Oct 12th 2024, 22:20
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The comedy "On Becoming a Guinea Fowl" by director Rungano Nyoni won the ZFF's feature film competition in Zurich on Saturday. The second main prize of the Zurich Film Festival went to Shiori Ito for the documentary "Black Box Diaries" about dealing with sexual violence in Japan. The main prizes were awarded at the Zurich Opera House.
"From the very first minute of the film, we are catapulted into a world that has been spectacularly filmed, with incredible music, exquisite sound design and acting performances that took our breath away," the five-member jury stated in its decision to award Nyoni a Golden Eye, as announced by the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) on Saturday. The jury also believes that Nyoni will conquer Hollywood.
Her comedy is about Shula, who comes across the body of her uncle on a deserted road. As the preparations for the funeral get underway, she and her cousins uncover the dark secrets of the middle-class family from Zambia, according to reports.
Nyoni was born in Zambia and emigrated to Wales with her parents as a child. After initially training in finance, she decided to study acting in London. She went on to study drama.
Documentary film award for "Black Box Diaries"
"We were overwhelmed by Shiori Ito's resilience, openness and her courage to be vulnerable," said the jury about Ito's documentary, according to the communiqué. With its "careful editing", the film unfolds as a "sensitive but at the same time suspenseful work".
The Japanese journalist was raped by a respected professional colleague who had close ties to the government, according to reports. In the documentary, the journalist uses the camera to show her attempt to bring her tormentor to justice. The work shows her fight against her country's backward sexual offense laws, the corruption of the police and the warnings from her own family.
This film has the potential to change something about the systematic violence against women worldwide, the jury concluded its vote.
The film also received the Audience Award.
Critics' Award and Best Film Music
The ZFF Critics Award was also presented to the comedy "Les Courageux" by director Jasmin Gordon. The jury of critics described the film as "a confidently staged, naturalistic feature film debut that trusts the audience to fill in narrative and emotional gaps themselves, with captivating, nuanced performances, especially from lead actress Ophélia Kolb", it continued.
In this comedy, a single mother in Valais struggles to survive economically and pretends to her three children that everything is fine, as the ZFF summarizes the plot. In order to keep up appearances, she gets more and more involved in petty crime and increasingly squanders the goodwill of the authorities.
The Swiss production received the Zurich Church Film Award on Thursday.
The Golden Eye for the best international film music went to Canadian composer Ahmed Soroko. "The emotional impact of the composition, the beautiful lyricism, the skillful use of dynamics and also the quiet moments" convinced the four-member jury, as they wrote.
Anniversary edition of the ZFF
The Zurich Film Festival gives up-and-coming filmmakers the opportunity to present their work to an international audience, wrote the ZFF. First, second and third directorial works are eligible to participate in the "Feature Film" and "Documentary Film" categories.
This year, the festival celebrated its 20th anniversary. The opening ceremony was attended by many celebrities from the worlds of culture, politics and show business. Hollywood celebrities such as Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Richard Gere and Pamela Anderson were in Zurich during the festival. The festival started on Thursday, October 3 and will end on Sunday.
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