Tunisia’s ‘Red Path’ Wins Black Iris At Amman Film Festival

Red Path, directed by Tunisia’s Lotfi Achour, was awarded with the Black Iris at the close of this year’s Amman International Film Festival (July 2-10) in the Jordanian capital.
 
The film, which premiered at last year’s Locarno Film Festival, is based on the true story of two young cousins exploring Tunisia's Mghila Mountain who are set upon by jihadist terrorists. One of the boys is killed and the other is forced to carry his cousin's severed head back home as a warning to their community.

Ali Helali was presented with a Special Mention for Best First-Time Lead Actor for his performance in the film.
 
To A Land Unknown, from Danish-Palestinian filmmaker Mahdi Fleifel, scooped both the Jury Award and the Audience Award. The film, about two Palestinian refugees living in Athens, premiered in Directors Fortnight at Cannes last year (see full list of award winners below).
 
Amman International Film Festival, which this year was held under the theme “A World Unscripted”, screened 62 films from 23 countries, including 16 world premieres. One of the highlights of this year’s programme was a special section dedicated to cinema from Ireland, which was attended by Irish filmmaker Jim Sheridan.
 
The awards ceremony took place on the festival’s closing night, along with a screening of short film The Ant That Crossed My Sketchbook, directed by Chris Akoury.
 
Over at the Amman Film Industry Days (AFID) market, projects to win multiple awards included Asphalt, a Jordanian project directed by Hamza Hamidah and produced by Mahmoud Massad, and You Don’t Die Two Times, a co-production between Algeria, Tunisia, Germany and France, directed by Ager Oueslati.
 
Asphalt won the $7,000 cash prize from the the Royal Film Commission Jordan for a project in post-production, as well as the Creative Media Solutions (CMS) in-kind services award, also worth $7,000. You Don’t Die Two Times took the IEFTA cash award of Euros6,000 for an Arab project in post-production, and a Red Sea Fund cash award of $5,000.

ARAB FEATURE-LENGTH NARRATIVE FILMS AWARDS:

Black Iris Award: Red Path, dir: Lotfi Achour (Tunisia)
 
Jury Award: To A Land Unknown, dir: Mahdi Fleifel (Palestine)
 
Special Mention - Best First-Time Scriptwriter: Tamara Owais, Simsim (Jordan)
 
Special Mention - Best First-Time Lead Actor: Ali Helali, Red Path (Tunisia) and Azzam Ahmed, Songs Of Adam (Iraq)
 
Special Mention - Best First-Time Lead Actress: Saja Kilani, Simsim (Jordan)
 
Audience Award: To A Land Unknown, dir: Mahdi Fleifel (Palestine)

ARAB FEATURE-LENGTH DOCUMENTARY AWARDS:

Black Iris: (Y)our Mother, dir: Samira El Mouzghibati (Morocco) and We Are Inside, dir: Farah Kassem (Lebanon)

Jury Award: Tell Them About Us, dir: Rand Beiruty (Lebanon)

Special Mention: Abu Zaabal 89, dir: Bassam Mortada (Egypt)

FIPRESCI Award: Abu Zaabal 89, dir: Bassam Mortada (Egypt)

Audience Award: Tell Them About Us, dir: Rand Beiruty (Lebanon)

ARAB SHORT FILM AWARDS:

Black Iris: A Passing Day, dir: Rasha Shahin (Egypt, Syria)

Jury Award: Those Who Never Left, dir: Pierre Mouzannar (Lebanon)

Special Mention: Mango, dir: Randa Ali (Egypt)

Audience Award: Your Excellency, dir: Musaed Alqudifi (Kuwait)

NON-ARAB FILM AWARDS:

Black Iris: Familiar Touch, dir: Sarah Friedland (US)

Jury Award: Dog On Trial, dir: Laetitia Dosch (France, Switzerland)

Audience Award: Tales From The Magic Garden, dir: David Sukup, Patrik Pass, Leon Vidmar & Jean-Claude Rozec (Czech Republic)