‘Rebel’, ‘The impatience of the heart’ and ‘La uruguaya’ top the list of winners at the BCN Film Fest 2023

The harshness of a furious war drama set in Syria has conquered the podium at the seventh edition of the BCN Film Fest. ‘Rebel’, by Belgian-Moroccan Muslim filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, has won the Best Film award among a much more distributed list of winners, headed by ‘La impatiencia del corazón’ and ‘La uruguaya’.

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are responsible for ‘Bad Boys for Life’, the blockbuster at the box office starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence (one of the highest-grossing films in history), although the career of the couple of collaborators has always been very close to the most commercial television fiction: we have seen them in the credits from Marvell series on Disney+ like ‘Ms. Marvel’, ‘Homeland’ or ‘Snowfall’. With ‘Rebel’, as in their first two films, ‘Black’ and ‘Image’, the couple delve into the purest forms of neonoir in search of empathy and spectacle.

‘Rebel’, presented at the last edition of the Cannes Film Festival (within the Midnight Sessions), tells the story of Kamal (Aboubakr Bensaihi, repeater from ‘Black’), a young man who decides to change his life for the better, leaving his life in Belgium to help the victims of the Syrian war … But, once there, he is forced to join a militia and fight with ISIS in Raqqa. The film explores the echoes of this kidnapping through the eyes of his younger brother, determined to get him back.and through the eyes of his mother Leila (Lubna Azabal, whom we know from Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Fires’), a convulsive update on the image of mercy.

The award for the film by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, which will be seen in Spanish cinemas from June 2 thanks to Inopia Films and Festival Films, has come as a partial surprise. International critics had already applauded the film for its bravery at Cannes, with Cineuropa writing: “This is a movie that has to be seen to be believed. This fascinating work demonstrates why it is essential for cinema to have a wide range of voices. tell the stories, and that’s what causes these incredible shocks and surprises.”

Jessica Kiang of Variety joked about the unexpected success of the formula: “There is unabashed sincerity in how Adil and Bilall realize their reckless ambition. for making a serious cautionary tale under the guise of a flashy thrill ride. You could even start rooting for ‘Rebel’, like you would a circus elephant traversing a minefield and managing with surprising dexterity to travel a great distance without blowing itself to pieces.”

The rest of the list of winners has fallen on more or less safe bets. ‘The impatience of the heart’, by the Danish Bille August (‘The Pact’) based on the homonymous novel by Stefan Zweig, has won three trophies: for Best Direction, for Best Music and for Best Film for its Historical Values, awarded by the University of Barcelona. The writer thanked you in his review of ‘The impatience of the heart’, about the relationship between a cavalry officer and a wealthy but quadriplegic girl, “the discreet courage with which August has adapted this fall to the personal hells of a able-bodied soldier for cowardice.”

The other great presence among the laureates is ‘La Uruguaya’, the project by Ana Garcia Blaya (‘The good intentions’) formulated by the Orsai Cultural Communityan initiative of crowdfunding which, we assure you, is worth discovering. the movie, a coming of age Humanist but demanding, he comes from winning Best Director at the Mar del Plata Festival. ‘The Uruguayan’ has won the Best Actress award for the newcomer Fiorella Bottaiolliand it has also won the Critics’ Award from the Catalan Critics Association, ACCEC.

The Best Actor award has put the cherry on the cake of one of the great visitors of this edition: Omar Sy was recognized for ‘Father and Soldier’ (here is the review of FOTOGRAMAS), where he plays a tirailleur of the French army who has to take care of his son and battalion mate during the First World War. Omar Sy returns to France with two awards: the Sant Jordi Cinematography Award for his career and the one he has just won, for Mathieu Vadepied’s film.

Cesc Gay, Empar Moliner and Vicky Luengo They were the Official Jury of this edition. Maria Adell, Margarita Chapatte and Marc Garriga have made up the Critics jury, and the jury for the Film-History Award was made up of Francesc Sánchez Barba, Juan Vaccaro and Virginia Vaccaro.

Full list of winners of the Barcelona Film Fest

Best film: ‘Rebel’, by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah

Best Direction: Bille August, for ‘The impatience of the heart’

Best screenplay: Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope for ‘The Lost King’, based on the book ‘The King’s grave: The search for Richard III’, by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones.

Best Actor: Omar Sy, for ‘Father and Soldier’

Best actress: Fiorella Bottaioli, for ‘The Uruguayan’

Castell de Peralada Festival Award for Best Music: Henry Skram for ‘The Impatience of the Heart’

Film-Historia Award (UB) for the Best Film for its Historical Values: ‘The impatience of the heart’, by Bille August (Special Mention: ‘Good company’)

Critics Award (ACCEC): ‘The Uruguayan’, by Ana García Blaya

Nous Talents Award for Best Short Film: ‘Death in Torrevieja’, by Adriana Arratia (ESCAC)