<\/p>\n
Cotton Queen, by Sudanese filmmaker Suzannah Mirghani, has won the Best Feature Film Award at this year\u2019s Thessaloniki Film Festival.<\/p>\n
The competition winners from this year\u2019s festival were announced this afternoon. This year\u2019s international competition jury was led by filmmaker Elegance Bratton, Thania Dimitrakopoulou (Head of Sales at The Match Factory), and cinematographer Frederick Elmes.<\/p>\n
More from Deadline<\/strong><\/p>\n Handing the award to Mirghani, Bratton said, \u201cFrom the very first moment we watched it, this film found a place in our hearts. In a world plagued by genocide and war, this film reminded us of what is truly important and what we are fighting for: our families and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Set in a cotton-farming village in Sudan, the film follows Nafisa, who lives a simple life, picking cotton and learning from her grandmother. The arrival of a young Sudanese businessman threatens to change their way of life.<\/p>\n Accepting the award today, Mirghani said: \u201cI\u2019d like to thank the Festival and the jury. This award means much more than you think, especially in these troubled times of war and genocide, for a film featuring actors displaced from their homes in Egypt, and seeking refuge. It is encouraging that you can still make art in such dark times and receive recognition. I\u2019d like to thank the film\u2019s co-producer and my mentor, Annemarie Jacir, who knows the significance and the importance of this film better than anyone. I\u2019d also like to thank the cast and crew of Sudanese origin, who are in a state of war and seeking a way out.\u201d<\/p>\n Scroll down to see the full list of winners from this year\u2019s festival.<\/p>\n INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AWARDS<\/strong><\/p>\n The Best Feature Film Award \u201cGolden Alexander \u2013 Theo Angelopoulos\u201d, accompanied by a 10,000-euro cash prize, was bestowed to the film<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Cotton Queen<\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Suzannah Mirghani<\/strong><\/p>\n COSMOTE TELEKOM, the Festival Major Sponsor, supports the Silver Alexander award with a cash prize of 5,000 euros. The award was bestowed to:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Beachcomber\u00a0<\/strong>by\u00a0Aristotelis Maragkos<\/strong><\/p>\n The Best Actor Award<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Harry Melling\u00a0<\/strong>for his performance in\u00a0Pillion<\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Harry Lighton<\/strong><\/p>\n The Best Actress Award<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Sabrina Amali\u00a0<\/strong>for her performance in\u00a0Maysoon<\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Nancy Biniadaki<\/strong><\/p>\n The Best Artistic Achievement-Direction of Photography Award<\/strong>:<\/p>\n DoP\u00a0Giorgos Karvelas\u00a0<\/strong>for his work in\u00a0Beachcomber<\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Aristotelis Maragkos<\/strong><\/p>\n The Best Screenplay Award<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Yvonne G\u00f6rlach<\/strong>\u00a0for her work in\u00a0Karla\u00a0<\/strong>by\u00a0Christina Tournatz\u00e8s<\/strong><\/p>\n MEET THE NEIGHBORS+ AWARDS<\/strong><\/p>\n Meet the Neighbors+ competition section includes debut or sophomore films from the 36 countries of Southeastern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Starting this year, the Best Director Award \u201cSilver Alexander\u201d is renamed into Best Director Award \u201cSilver Alexander \u2013 City of Thessaloniki Award\u201d, as the Municipality of Thessaloniki is funding the award, displaying its solid support to the Festival.<\/p>\n The jury is composed of:<\/p>\n Ali Abbasi (filmmaker)<\/p>\n Sofia Kokkali (actress)<\/p>\n Kirsten Niehuus (President of the Board of Directors of DFFF [German Federal Film Fund] and film funding expert)<\/p>\n The Best Feature Film Award \u201cGolden Alexander \u2013 Michel Demopoulos\u201d<\/strong>:<\/p>\n The Last One for The Road\u00a0<\/strong>by\u00a0Francesco Sossai<\/strong><\/p>\n The Best Director Award \u201cSilver Alexander \u2013 City of Thessaloniki Award\u201d, accompanied by a 5,000-euro cash prize<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Roqia<\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Yanis Koussim<\/strong><\/p>\n The Best Actor Award<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Pierpaolo Capovilla\u00a0<\/strong>&\u00a0Sergio Romano\u00a0<\/strong>for their performances in\u00a0The Last One For The Road<\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Francesco Sossai<\/strong><\/p>\n The Best Actress Award<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Manuela Martelli<\/strong>\u00a0for her performance in\u00a0God Will Not Help<\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Hana Ju\u0161i\u0107<\/strong><\/p>\n The Best Artistic Achievement<\/strong>:<\/p>\n God Will Not Help<\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Hana Ju\u0161i\u0107<\/strong><\/p>\n >>FILM FORWARD AWARDS<\/strong><\/p>\n The Film Forward International Competition Section presents the work of new, daring filmmakers who challenge our relationship with storytelling and aspire to renegotiate it through their debut or sophomore films, beyond the boundaries of film genres.<\/p>\n The jury is composed of:<\/p>\n Constanza Macras (choreographer)<\/p>\n Christos Massalas (filmmaker)<\/p>\n Valeria Wagner (Zurich Film Festival programmer)<\/p>\n The Best Feature Film Award \u201cGolden Alexander\u201d, accompanied by a 8,000-euro cash prize<\/strong>:<\/p>\n 1001 Frames\u00a0<\/strong>by\u00a0Mehrnoush Alia<\/strong><\/p>\n The Best Director Award \u201cSilver Alexander\u201d, accompanied by a 4,000-euro cash prize<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Before \/ After<\/strong>\u00a0by Mano\u00ebl Dupont<\/strong><\/p>\n The Best Artistic Achievement Award<\/strong>:<\/p>\n The Chronology of Water<\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Kristen Stewart<\/strong><\/p>\n A Special Mention is bestowed to the actors<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Jeremy Lamblot<\/strong>\u00a0&\u00a0Baptiste Lecl\u00e8re<\/strong>\u00a0for their performances in\u00a0Before \/ After<\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Mano\u00ebl Dupont<\/strong><\/p>\n Best of Deadline<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for Deadline’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source ca.news.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cotton Queen, by Sudanese filmmaker Suzannah Mirghani, has won the Best Feature Film Award at this year\u2019s Thessaloniki Film Festival. The competition winners from this year\u2019s festival were announced this afternoon. This year\u2019s international competition jury was led by filmmaker Elegance Bratton, Thania Dimitrakopoulou (Head of Sales at The Match Factory), and cinematographer Frederick Elmes. 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