Take a gander:Narrative Award (for Best Narrative Feature)
Winner: Familiar Ground written & directed by Stéphane Lafleur
Producers: Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
Cast: Francis La Haye, Fanny Mallette, Sylvain Marcel, Michel Daigle, Suzanne Lemoine
Film Description: (Canada) This droll, deadpan comedy from snowbound Quebec features an unhappy brother and sister whose fates seem to be known by a mysterious Man From the Future. Not too far in the future though. Just next September.
The Narrative Award carries an unrestricted cash prize of $15,000 funded by Film Independent, offering the financial means to help filmmakers transfer their vision to the screen. The award recognizes the finest narrative film in competition, and is given to the director. A special jury selects the winner, and all narrative feature-length films screening in the Narrative Competition section were eligible. In bestowing Stéphane Lafleur with the Narrative Award, the Jury stated: “An entire tree sticking out of a fireplace…a beaten-up snowman…an operatically dancing inflatable blue dude…the anything but familiar images of Familiar Ground won’t soon be forgotten. In a strong narrative competition this year, this was the singular vision that stood out the most.”
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