BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: Algerian filmmaker Merzak Allouache bagged the coveted Best Narrative Feature Film award for the second time in a row, with his moving film ‘The Repentant’ winning unanimous nod from the jury at this year’s Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF), during the Arab Films Competition awards ceremony last night at the Al Rayyan Theatre in Souq Waqif.
Allouache was also declared winner at the DTFF last year for his narrative feature film Normal whose $100,000 prize was used to finance The Repentant. “I want to dedicate this award to those fighting for freedom and democracy in Algeria,” said Allouche, upon accepting his award for his acclaimed film. The Repentant narrates the tale of Rashid, a young jihadist who leaves the mountains to resume a normal life.
The film recently won Best Screenplay at the International Film Festival in Addis Ababa and screened at the Cannes Festival 2012.
According to the jury, The Repentant won “for its powerful emotional thrust and for the subtle manner in which it treats the complexity of its characters at a tragic moment in their existence.”
Both films touch on an uncertain and turbulent period in his country’s recent history called the ‘black decade’.
“For his presence, his sincerity and his truthful portrayal of a man torn between his feelings and his principles,” Tunisian actor Ahmed El Hafiane won the Best Performance in a narrative film award - the only acting award given at the festival - for the film The Professor directed by Mahmoud Ben Mahmoud. Other awardees in the Feature Narrative category included Nabil Ayouch for Best Director for the film Horses of God and Nadir Mokneche’s Goodbye Morocco which received a Special Mention.
Khalil Joreige, co-director of the film Lebanese Rocket Society which won Best Documentary Feature Film award dedicated the award to the dreamers behind the Middle East’s first rocket launched by Lebanon in the 60s marking a historic moment for the country though was forgotten by people in recent times.
The Best Documentary Filmmaker award went to Hanan Abdalla for the film In the Shadow of a Man while Algerian documentary Fidai by filmmaker Damien Ounouri won a Special Mention.
Awardees for the Short Film segment were led by The Forgotten directed by Ehab Tarabieh. Special awards were bestowed to Sanctity by Saudi Arabian filmmaker Ahd (Development Award) and A Day in 1959 (Special Mention) by Lebanese director Nadim Tabet.
Short film Bader by young Qatari filmmakers Sara Al Saadi, Maaria Assami and Latifa Al Darwish was declared winner in the Made in Qatar section where 19 entries competed including three feature films Lockdown: Red Moon Escape, ‘Angel in June’ and ‘Lyrics Revolt’, the latter winning a Special Mention.
Abdulaziz Al Khater, Chief Executive Officer, Doha Film Institute, said: “We had set stringent quality standards for the Arab Film Competition this year – from the short-listing process to evaluation. We congratulate the winners as well as every filmmaker who has been part of this amazing cinema journey, marked by several compelling portraits of how Arab filmmakers react to the society and world around them. The thematic intensity of their films, their courage to push the boundaries and their focus on telling our stories with conviction to the rest of the world will be an inspiration to every emerging filmmaker. The Competition is a true reflection of our focus to strengthen the regional film industry by setting solid benchmarks of excellence.”
With total prize money of over $440,000, the Arab Film Competition had its largest selection of 27 films this year, comprising seven documentaries, seven narrative features and 13 shorts from 10 Arab countries, including first time entries to the competition from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The best feature narrative and documentary received prize money of $100,000 each.
An award of $50,000 was awarded to the best directors in both categories.
The Best Performance Award winner in the Feature Narrative competition received $15,000. The Best Short film received $10,000 and a development prize of up to $10,000.
The Made in Qatar development award winner was presented a cash prize of $ 10,000.
The award winning films will be screened at the festival today and tomorrow.
The awards night also featured performance by Algerian musician Safy Boutella and a montage of the best films from Algeria in the last four decades as a tribute to Algerian cinema.
