FILM FESTIVAL-CANNES/UN CERTAIN REGARD Icelandic film 'Hrutar' scoops the Un Certain Regard main prize

Record ID: 153952

  • Title: FILM FESTIVAL-CANNES/UN CERTAIN REGARD Icelandic film 'Hrutar' scoops the Un Certain Regard main prize
  • Date: 23rd May 2015
  • Summary: CANNES, FRANCE (MAY 23, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** WINNERS OF PRIZES STAND ALONGSIDE JURY MEMBERS FOR PHOTOCALL ROSSELLINI WITH HAKONARSON (SOUNDBITE) (English) UN CERTAIN REGARD JURY PRESIDENT ISABELLA ROSSELLINI, SAYING: "The film was excellent at many levels but it also deals with an environmental problem which is one of the most pressing i
  • Embargoed: 7th June 2015 13:00
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  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA135E5H54ZRHAL7IIYFBHB3EFX
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: "Hrutar" (Rams) by Icelandic director Grimur Hakonarson was awarded Cannes' Un Certain Regard prize by jury president Isabella Rossellini on Saturday (May 23).
    The film, Kakonarson's second feature film, takes place in a remote Icelandic valley and tells the story of two brothers who haven't spoken to each other for forty years but who have to unite to save their sheep from being destroyed by veterinary authorities.
    Rossellini, who was heading the jury formed of film-maker Haifaa Al-Mansour, actor Tahar Rahim, director Nadine Labaki and film-maker Panos Koutras, said the film dealt with important issues of our time.
    "The film was excellent at many levels but it also deals with an environmental problem which is one of the most pressing issues of our time so we felt it was a very modern approach to questions of our life," she said after the award ceremony.
    Hakonarson, who was presenting a film at Cannes for the first time, said that even if the story takes place in Iceland, it was dealing with universal topics.
    "Very pleased, you know. I think it's a universal story, it's a story about family conflicts, even though it's an Icelandic film, it seems to touch hearts of the audience, you know, but the film, it's also entertaining, it's also funny. It's a mixture of drama and comedy and we seem to have, maybe, profited from that a little. I worked at the film. People they like the film because it's sort of funny and dramatic at the same time," he told Reuters Television.
    "It's especially very good for the Icelandic film industry, you know. It's a big moment, actually. It's actually a big moment for the history of the Icelandic film industry. This is probably the biggest prize that has been given to an Icelandic movie ever," he added.
    Japanese auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa got the best director award for his latest film "Kishibe No Tabi" (Journey to the Shore).
    The film features popular actress Eri Fukatsu as 'Mizuki' whose husband 'Yusuke' returns home three years after he went missing at sea. But Yusuke announces that he died at sea in Toyama in the Northlands, with his body gnawed clean by crabs. He and Mizuki go on a trip to meet the people who showed him kindness on his route home, beginning a journey that examines the human condition and helps Mizuki find closure with her husband in the process.
    The jury prize went to Dalibor Matanic for "Zvizdan", the Un Certain Talent prize was awarded to Corneliu Porumboiu's "Comoara" (The Treasure) and the Un Certain Regard special jury prizes for debut films (Prix de l'avenir) went to "Nahid" by Ida Panahandeh and "Masaan" by Neeraj Ghaywan.
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