Award Winners MtMF26

Psychological portrait telling the stories of six women who survived sexual violence and torture during Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Led by Iryna Dovgan, they fight for justice and recognition. In the face of massive trauma, Iryna encourages them to rebuild their lives. Very inspiring.

Jury report: ”This film, in particular, left us deeply affected — both by its difficult and challenging subject matter, and by its thoughtful and composed form. With its unique access to the subject and its characters, this film exposes atrocities committed against the vulnerable with respect, intimacy, and humility. Above all, it offers a sense of healing through its gaze upon nature, which continues to renew itself despite everything.”

The Grand Jury Documentary Award ensures that this film is also eligible for a nomination for the Academy Award® for Best Documentary.

Aisha is a 26-year-old Sudanese caregiver living in a rough neighbourhood in Cairo. She is stuck between an undefined relationship with a young Egyptian cook, a gangster that blackmails her, and a new house she’s assigned to work in. Craving a better life, Aisha’s dreams keep being confronted with reality.

Jury report: ”The film we chose surpassed our expectations on all levels of craft and storytelling execution. This directorial debut reveals a world rarely seen or explored through a unique vision that draws one into from beginning to end. We were completely taken by the film’s protagonist, whose acting debut gave us insights into strength and resilience through hardship and suffering, often with silence that speak louder than words. This film combines multiple layers of meaning that address an under-represented aspect of the female condition, faith, justice, morality, ethics and a pure will to survive that affects millions.”

A special mention was awarded to Lost Land by Akio Fujimoto, the first feature film ever shot in the Rohingya language.

Aisha Can’t Fly Away will be screened once more at the festival on Friday 27 March.

As the first woman ever elected to the council of her small Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi aims to break long-held patriarchal traditions. She trains teenage girls to ride motorcycles, encourages them to pursue an education and tries to stop child marriages. But Sara’s resilience and combative style bring her many enemies – mostly men.

Jury report: ”The film we’ve chosen to honor with the Activist Lens Award brought us to a corner of the world rarely glimpsed by international audiences, a place where independent filmmakers operate under dangerous, near impossible constraints. The iconic protagonist of this film captured our hearts immediately by refusing to be anyone but herself and manifesting the change she wants to see in the world in ways both quiet and loud, private and public, secure in the knowledge that even the most seemingly insignificant gesture has the power to change someone’s life. Beautifully shot, exquisitely crafted, and damn near perfect.”

Cutting Through Rocks will be screened once more at the festival on Saturday 28 March.

A special mention in the ‘Activist Lens’ competition went to The Woman Who Poked the Leopard by Patience Nitumwesiga.

Jérôme Clément-Wilz was sexually abused as a child by a priest. In this deeply personal film, he tries to search for clues in his memories and come to terms with the complicity of his former social environment.

Jury report: “The winning film is a poetic, subtle and authentic film that demonstrates the importance of healing through justice. It is a deeply personal film, that exposes the power of the Catholic Church and patriarchal establishment that reaches even into your own home. Europe still needs more introspection to come to terms with this, and the Jury sees this film is an important contribution.”

This is my Body will be screened once more at the festival on Thursday 26 March.

A special mention went to The Alabama Solution by Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman.

Elderly brothers Rob and René – father and uncle of filmmaker Tom Fassaert – cannot live with, but also not without each other. René lives like a recluse in a cluttered, congested house, his brother Rob intervenes. But then Tom begins to suspect that something else lies beneath the dynamic between the brothers.

Jury report: “We were united as a jury in our admiration for a personal story well told. A portrait of two men, who endure an unpredictable and difficult childhood of abandonment together, but remain steadfastly committed to each other throughout their adult lives. This film is given an additional layer of intriguing complexity through a subtle provocation that asks us to consider how abnormal and strange our ideas of a ‘normal life’ might be. Director Tom Faessert’s delicate exploration of how familial trauma spirals down through the generations, is a well-narrated account of the ties that bind us, in often inscrutable and unforeseen ways, and how we try to loosen their restrictive consequences.”

Tussen broers will be screened once more at the festival on Saturday 28 March.

A special mention in the ‘Dutch Focus’ competition was awarded to Gedwongen Geloften by Eva Strating and Roxanne Herder.

Set against ethereal visuals from the natural world, snippets of text stitch together memories of domestic abuse inflicted upon a set of sisters over a period of more than a decade. Seen through the eyes of one sister, the project takes viewers behind the closed doors of an unsafe home, as she flashes through a lifetime of terrifying and chaotic scenes.

Jury report: “We commend the filmmaker for tackling a topic filled with brutality, by using an empowered voice that challenges the institutions both local and international, that have let her down, while celebrating the kindness of strangers who saved her. We were compelled by every line of text that filled the screen, which although deeply personal, confronted violence with the hope of humanity in us all.”

Rahhala: Hayya ala Hayya will be screened at the festival on Thursday 26 March and Saturday 28 March.

A special mention went to What If They Bomb Here Tonight by Samir Syriani.

The Education Award went to TKT, a poignant Flemish film based on a true story and the book of the same name. The film explores the impact of cyberbullying and social exclusion on young people, in a world where online visibility, peer pressure, and apparent perfection seem to define everything.

Jury report: "We, as the jury, were deeply impressed by this powerful film about mental health and the importance of talking openly about it among young people. The dedication and teamwork behind the film stood out particularly. TKT deserves to be seen as widely as possible."

A special mention went to Bloemen van de pomp by Danny Stolker.