In its 52nd year, theRotterdam Festivalwitnessed Cyrielle Raingou’sLe Spectre de Boko Haram, a documentary showing a group of children in The North Region of Cameroon living under the threat posed by the armed extremist group Boko Haram.
The 2023 Tiger Award, the main prize of the festival, was awarded to Raingou’s masterpiece at a gala ceremony on Friday night in Rotterdam. The award carries a sum of $43,000 in prize money.
The Far North Region of Cameroon, which Raingou comes from, has been the target of attacks by the terrorist group Boko Haram since 2014. In this profoundly moving feature, the children try to find their identities in the danger of war. Falta, a little girl who is diligent and studious, is prepared to deal with the murder of her father due to a terrorist attack. However, her classmate Ibrahim and his elder brother Mohammad have difficulty juggling their youthful enthusiasm and painful past that has taken them away from their innocence as eight and eleven-year-old children.
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Socio-Political Films Take Over IFFR 2023
At this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), socially-relevant films from Africa, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East received the top prizes, with political dramas and documentaries emerging as the major winners.
Abbas Amini’sIranian dramathriller,Endless Borders, received the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Big Screen Award for the best film in the IFFR’s main sidebar section. The film tells the tale of an exiled Iranian teacher who lives in a border town between Iran and Afghanistan.Endless Bordersreceived the award the same day that dissident Iranian filmmakerJafar Panahi was released from prisonin Iran after spending nine months behind bars.
According toThe Hollywood Reporter,Endless Borders' producer Farzad Pak commented on this, saying,
“It’s a great coincidence that Jafar was released on the same day our film won”
“The film is dedicated to all the mothers who are mourning for their lost and imprisoned children.”
Munnel, a feature by Visakesa Chandrasekaram about the life of the Tamil community after the war in Sri Lanka, and the pandemic comedyNew Strainsby American filmmakers Artemis Shaw and Prashanth Kamalakanthan both received Special Jury Awards. Each of the films received a $10,800 cash prize.
The feature film debut by Ukrainian director Philip Sotnychenko,La Palisiada, which examines post-Soviet life in Ukraine in the 1990s, won the Fipresci Award given by the international film critics association.
Additionally, The Eurimages Co-production Development Award, which comes with a $21,600 prize, was among the awards the IFFR gave to the Italy-France co-productionHeads Or Tailsearlier this year.
Find IFFR 2023 winners list below:
Tiger Competition Award
Le Spectre De Boko Haram, by director Cyrielle Raingou
Special Jury Award
Munnel, by director Visakesa Chandrasekaram
New Strains, by directors Artemis Shaw and Prashanth Kamalakanthan
