A debut feature shot over five weeks on a modest budget took the main award at the regional film festival, with the jury citing its handling of performance and its treatment of the small industrial town where it was filmed.
The film follows a family across a single season as a workplace closure moves through the community around them. It was made with a largely non professional cast drawn from the town itself, a choice the director described as practical before it was artistic.
The jury decision
The jury described the award as unanimous, unusual for a competition that has produced split decisions in four of the last six years. In its citation it pointed to the film refusing easy resolution and to the quality of its ensemble work.
The performance prize went to a lead actor in a different competition title, a period piece that had been widely expected to contend for the main award. The director prize was shared between two entries for the first time in the festival history.
We kept returning to the same film in discussion, and eventually we stopped pretending that was a coincidence.
Distribution
The film has no distributor attached in most territories. Festival programmers said interest had increased sharply over the final weekend, and the production company confirmed it is in discussion with several parties following the award.
The festival reported attendance up on last year, with the documentary strand selling out most of its scheduled screenings. Next year the programme expands to add a short film competition running alongside the main selection.
