Montréal, October 1st, 2012 – The 8th edition of the Montreal International Black Film Festival, presented by Global Montreal, announced its prizewinners at the Festival's closing ceremonies last night. Winners were selected by a professional jury. Members of the jury for Narrative Feature were: Raymond Desmarteau (actor and radio host), Benz Antoine (actor) and Philippe Fehmiu (radio host and director). The jury for Documentary Feature was made up of: Patricia Rimok (President and CEO of Immigration Business Network ib2ib), Robert Cohen (lawyer) and Lynda Thalie (singer-songwriter). For short and mid-length films, the jury included: Jenny Salgado (singer-songwriter), Hassan Serraji (columnist and blogger) and Alejandro Jiminez Ramos (filmmaker).
Members of the juries evaluated over 115 excellent films from nearly 40 countries according to a set of selection criteria. While all films were outstanding, the following really stood out:
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE:
iNSIDE STORY, by Rolie Nikiwe (Kenya, South Africa)
Honorable Mentions to:
Winnie, by Darrell Roodt (Canada, South Africa)
Sonny Boy, by Maria Peters (Netherlands)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
DEAR MANDELA, by Dara Kell & Christopher Nizza (South Africa, USA)
Honorable Mentions to:
The Central Park Five, by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon (USA)
The Creators, by Laura Gamse (South Africa)
BEST MID-LENGTH DOCUMENTARY:
SARABAH, by Maria Luisa Gambale (Senegal, USA)
Honorable mention to:
Duhozanye, A Rwandan Village of Widdows, by Karoline Frogner (Norway, Rwanda)
Second Filmmaker : Gloria Bremer
Producer: Steve Lawrence
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT:
SLEEP, by Donald Conley (USA)
Honorable mention to:
Umkhungo, by Matthew Jankes (South Africa)
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
CARBON FOR WATER, by Evan Abramson and Carmen Elza Lopez (USA)
BEST ANIMATED SHORT:
A fAMILY MAN, by The Rauch Brothers, Lizzie Jacobs (USA)
Honorable Mention to:
MacPherson, by Martine Chartrand (Canada)
