Thaindian News

Abu Dhabi, Oct 23 (IANS) Russian filmmaker Aleksei Fedorchenk’s “Silent Souls” won the best narrative film award and Andrew Garfield, who will be seen as Peter Parker in “Spider-Man 4″, won the best actor award for his performance in “Never Let Me Go” at the fourth Abu Dhabi Film Festival Friday.

“Silent Souls” has won $100,000 for its poetic depiction of the echoes of a cultural heritage for the people of today and for the excellence of its cinematic language.

Garfield bagged $25,000 for his performance in director Mark Romanek’s film.

Lubna Azabal won the best actress award for her role in Canadian director Denis Villeneuve’s film “Incendies” and took home $25,000.

Lebanese director Bahij Hojeij’s “Here Comes The Rain” was declared the best narrative film from the Arab world and it won $100,000.

In the Documentary Feature Competition section, the best documentary award was shared by Patricio Guzmán’s “Nostalgia ForThe Light” and British filmmaker Kim Longinotto’s “Pink Saris”. The prize money of $100,000 was shared by both.

While Guzmán’s film was honoured for the originality of its dramatic and cinematic vision, Longinotto was awarded for bringing cinema and real life together to reinforce one another, and for breaking the illusory boundary between documentary and fiction”.

The prize money of $100,000 for best documentary by an Arab director or related to Arab culture too was shared by “Homeland”, by French director George Sluizer (Netherlands), and Lebanese director Maher Abi Samra’s “We Were Communists”.

In the New Horizons Competition section, which was held for the first time this year, director Vahid Vakilifar‘s “Gesher” won best narrative film by a new director and the prize money was $100,000; best narrative film by a new director from the Arab world went to “Ok, Enough, Goodbye” by director duo Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia and they shared the prize money $100,000.

The best documentary by a new director ($100,000) too is shared by “El Ambulante”, directed by Eduardo de la Serna, Lucas Marcheggiano and Adriana Yurcovich (Argentina) and “Bill Cunningham New York”, by Richard Press.

The best documentary film by a new director from the Arab world jury special mention prize $25,000 went to Living Skin by Egyptian director Fawzi Saleh.