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François Chalais Award, Cannes 2016

By 13 juin 2016janvier 16th, 2017Actualité / News

Bob Swaim, the Director of Eicar’s International Department, president of the Prix François Chalais jury at the 2016 Cannes International Film Festival.

The prestigious award, created 20 years ago and sponsored by the French Ministry of Culture and the National Center of Cinematography (CNC), rewards the film that best reflects the reality of our world, respecting the humanist philosophy of the late French writer and journalist, François Chalais.

“Although I have previously been a member of the jury, being asked to be president of the jury is an honor and very special for me in that François Chalais was not only a man that I greatly admired but also a friend,” Swaim explains. “This year I was blessed with an exceptional jury of French filmmakers & producers such as Janine Langlois-Glandier former head of Pathé, film distributor Alain Carradore, producer Jacques Dorfmann, and Albert Mathieu, one of the co-founders of Canal Plus and founder of the Conservatoire Européen d’Ecriture Audiovisuelle (CEEA).”

This year’s François Chalais prize was award to the Russian film “THE STUDENT”, about a student intoxicated by the words of the Bible and condemns his family, his teachers and his classmates, directed by Kirill Serebrennikov.   “Although the film takes place in Russia,” says Swaim, “ it’s really about extremists throughout the world, using religious scriptures, who murder those who don’t think like them. It’s a courageous and disturbing film.”

Recent  Prix François Chalais winners include László Nemes « THE SON OF SAUL », and Abderrahmane Sissako’s « TIMBUKTU ».