Awards

Awards
Unveiling of the
Winners of the
40th edition
of the FIFA
The International Festival of Films on Art (Le FIFA) is pleased to reveal the winners of its 40th edition, held March 15 – 27, 2022. This year, 18 feature-length films and 20 short films were in official competition for the six prizes awarded by the jury: the Grand Prize, the Jury Award, the Award for Best Essay, the Award for Best Portrait, the Award for the Best Canadian Film, and the Award for Best Short Film.
“We are thrilled to reveal the winners of the 40th edition of Le FIFA,” declared Jacinthe Brisebois, FIFA’s Head of Programming of Art Films. “We extend our warmest thanks to all jury members for agreeing to participate in choosing the winners.”
AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM

YOLLOTL by Fernando Colin Roque
Mexico | 2020 | 17 min 10 s | Spanish / subtitles: English
“Yollotl (Coeur) is able to find a delicate balance among different art forms and, at the same time, to create its own cinematographic language,” stated the jury. “It immerses us in a forest in which we can feel the breath and pulse of the trees that inhabit it thanks to the perceptiveness of children in communion with these majestic natural surroundings. It invites us to envision a more sensitive way to cohabit and interact with our environment. This film makes a connection between nature and people through a free interpretation of the subject.”
JURY AWARD FOR SHORT FILM

WE ARE NOT SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE by Danika St-Laurent
Canada | 2021 | 8 min 17 s | English / subtitles: French
“This luminous film authentically relates the history of broken connections. Through rhythmic music and the art of beadwork, the narrator delicately weaves the plot of a private narrative. Through microscopic objects, the film emotionally captures macroscopic discourse, asking simple but full questions about the inner identity of individuals in the world. For its sensitive and human combination of the private and the political spoken by a single voice, we are presenting it with a special jury award.”
PRIZE FOR BEST ESSAY

TO UNVEIL A STAR by Juul Hondius
The Netherlands | 2020 | 1 h 47 s | English, Dutch, and French / subtitles: English
“A first-person address to a sculpture, To Unveil a Star thoughtfully and deftly addresses the power of symbolism and sculpture to everyone, from a child to the maker of the work, and even members of NATO, with their complicated connection to the original commission. A reminder of how precarious yet vital connections to place, objects, and identity really are – across time and especially, sadly, today with the invasion of Ukraine and the threat to European stability. ” explained the jury.
AWARD FOR BEST PORTRAIT

VENICE ELSEWHERE by Elia Romanelli
Italy | 2020| 1 h 2 min | Romanian, Turkish, German, Croatian / subtitles: English
“Subtle and resonant, these micro-portraits of ordinary people from disparate backgrounds share a common sense of their perfect place: a “Venice” of the mind. The award for best portrait goes to Venice Elsewhere, an appreciation of the everyday, and every person, with gratitude to the production team for recognizing the power and boundlessness of imagination, subjective storytelling, and skill of character development through image and sound. ”
AWARD FOR THE BEST CANADIAN FILM

JE ME SOULÈVE by Hugo Latulippe
Canada | 2021 | 1 h 27 m 34 s | French / subtitles: English
“The jury recognizes Je me soulève for the positive portrayal of passion and hope collectively expressed by young poets and performers from all walks of life. The vibrant spirit of the sisters at the core of this project – who believe in the power of words, poetry, and subjective experience – is infectious and beautifully unrelenting. A powerful rendition of a unique production journey.”
JURY AWARD

LICHT THE STOCKHAUSEN’S LEGACY by Oeke Hoogendijk
The Netherlands | 2021 | 2 h 1 min | English, Dutch, and German | subtitles: English
“Oeke Hoogendijk follows the ambitious project of staging Licht, a never-performed lyric cycle by Karlheinz Stockhausen, through a film that does not hide the painful contradictions in the life of the legendary composer. Licht Stockhausen’s Legacy is not only the fascinating chronicle of an extraordinary musical adventure but, above all, the biography, at times controversial, of a man beyond myth.”
GRAND PRIZE

SERGIO LARRAIN, THE ETERNAL MOMENT by Sebastián Moreno
Chile | 2019 | 1 h 24 min | Spanish, French, English, and Italian / subtitles: English
“In the image of the artist that Sergio Larrain was, this is a film that looks at what goes on outside the edges of the photographic image and therefore leaves room for what is beyond. That is, what goes on in life. Or, rather, in Larrain’s gaze at unremarkable daily life. As discreet as he seemed to be, we nevertheless discern, through this elegant portrait, an ardent quest. Toward the end of his life, this ideal narrowed to the point that the moment encompassed even that which was used to capture it. A poetic and delicate celebration that gives full play both to Larrain’s work and to the man behind the lens. This beautiful film enables us to know and love one of the greatest hunters of instants.”
Trophies of the 40th Edition
The International Festival of Films on Art is committed to promoting Quebec’s artistic creation and wishes to highlight the talent of local artists. For the design of the 40th edition trophies, the choice fell on Zela Lobb, an illustrator whose work has been published in some of the most important publications today, including the Financial Times London Magazine, The New York Times and Rolling Stone. By collaborating with Zela Lobb, FIFA wishes to pay tribute to the richness of Quebec’s crafts.
“The trophies were made to represent on each side, the eye of the director and the viewer, underlining their symbiosis of variety.”