4th NIAFF Competition Winner’s List

Feature Competiton Grand-Prix : Allah is not Obliged

The odyssey of a ten-year-old orphan through West Africa, as he embarks on a journey to find his remaining family. Pulled from one armed group to another, he is drawn into the conflicts of the adults around him, learning that staying alive means questioning the stories they tell.

Original Title : Allah n’est pas obligé

Director : Zaven Najjar

Feature Competition JURY Award : Nimuendajú

The film tells the story of Curt Unckel, a social scientist who lived with indigenous peoples for 40 years. Curt was baptized in 1906 by the Guarani as Nimuendajú, and dedicated his life to studying and understanding different cultures. He witnessed the persecution and expulsion of indigenous peoples from their lands.

Original Title：Nimuendajú

Director : Tania Anaya

Indie Box Competition SWAN Award : Autokar

In the 1990s, 8 years-old Agata leaves Poland for Belgium. Anxious about her journey, the little girl writes a letter to her father back home, but her pencil falls out and gets lost on the bus. Forced to overcome her shyness, she crawls between the seats in search of the pencil, plunging into a fantastic world populated by strange half-human, half-animal passengers. At the tender age of 8, her eyes transform the reality of migration into an initiatory experience.

Original Title : Autokar

Director : Sylwia Szkiłądź

Indie Box Competition JURY Award : The Popstar Water Deer and I

A lonely young programmer, Vega, falls in love with a beautiful popstar water deer. They sing a song of happiness together in fantasy. The pigeons constantly drag them back into the real world, and Vega’s longing for warmth is in need of being sated.

Original Title : The Popstar Water Deer and I

Director : LEE Sasha

Senkrechtstarter Award : Winter in March

Helpless in the face of a repressive state, a young couple leaves their home ― an escape that turns into a surreal nightmare.

Original Title : Lumi saadab meid

Director : Natalia Mirzoyan