Raindance Film Festival: ‘Nawi' Wins Best Int'l Feature and Debut Performance Awards
The 33rd Raindance Film Festival is wrapping up on Friday and has unveiled its jury awards. Nawi: Dear Future Me, which tackles child marriage and was Kenya's submission for the 2025 international feature film Oscar race, was honored as the best international feature. Its young star Michelle Lemuya Ikeny won the best performance in a debut feature award. The Kenyan-German coming-of-age drama was directors by the brothers Toby and Kevin Schmutzler, as well as Apuu Mourine and Vallentine Chelluget.
The best documentary feature award went to Immortals, directed by Maja Tschumi, about 'strong-willed feminist Milo and ambitious filmmaker Khalili who, in the aftermath of the 2019 revolution, are the faces, eyes, and voices of an Iraqi youth that is relentlessly fighting for abetter future.'
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Matthew Losasso's Row won the best U.K. feature honor, while the discovery award for best debut feature went to Srishti, directed by Paul Antar. The Spirit of Raindance Award was presented to Alaa Aliabdallah's Palestine Comedy Club.
Check out the full list of winners below.
Best international featureNawi: Dear Future Me (directors Vallentine Chelluget, Apuu Mourine, Kevin Schmutzler, Kenya)Highlighting the plight of child brides in Africa, and acclaimed at multiple film festivals and at theAfrican Movie Academy Awards, Nawi: Dear Future Me follows a 13-year-old whose father is sellingher to a much older man for a herd of goats, and so she embarks on a journey to reclaim her dream ofjoining high school. Honorable mention: The Party's Over
Best documentary featureImmortals (director Maja Tschumi, Switzerland/Iraq)An insight into a new generation that has known nothing but war since the US-led occupation,Immortals follows strong-willed feminist Milo and ambitious filmmaker Khalili who, in the aftermath ofthe 2019 revolution, are the faces, eyes, and voices of an Iraqi youth that is relentlessly fighting for abetter future. Honourable mention: Children In The Fire
Discovery award for best debut feature (The Elisar Cabrera Award)Srishti (director Paul Antar, India)The story of a photographer, haunted by childhood guilt, who travels to remote Himalayan Sector K toinvestigate a mysterious phenomenon – this mystery/drama highlights the plight of children forced towork trawling through giant rubbish heaps in search of things that can be monetized.
Best debut directorAlissa Jung, Paternal Leave (Germany/Italy)A champion at Berlin and BCN film festivals, Paternal Leave follows a teenage girl's journey to Italy'snorthern coast, seeking her unknown biological father.
Best performance in a debut featureMichelle Lemuya Ikeny, Nawi: Dear Future MeHaving previously won the African Movie Academy Award for Best Promising Actor for herperformance in Nawi: Dear Future Me, teenage actress Michell Lemuya Ikeny now wins Raindance's'Best Performance in a Debut Feature' for her debut acting role, playing a schoolgirl in north-westernKenya forced to marry an older man.
Best performance in a U.K. featureEdward Hogg, The Lonely MusketeerNominated for Most Promising Newcomer at the BIFAs in 2009 for his first film lead role in WhiteLightnin', and with further credits including A Good Woman Is Hard to Find and Imagine, English actorEdward Hogg now wins Raindance's best performance in a U.K. feature for his role in unique closed-room thriller The Lonely Musketeer.
Best U.K. featureRow (director Matthew Losasso, UK)Shot on the open sea, and with a cast including Bella Dayne (Humans) and Sophie Skelton (Outlander),Row sees a woman wash ashore on a blood-stained rowing boat after a failed trans-Atlantic worldrecord attempt. With all her crewmates missing, presumed dead, she must piece together fracturedmemories of the ordeal to prove her innocence.
Best director of a U.K. featureChristopher M. Anthony, HeavyweightStarring Nicholas Pinnock, Jordan Bolger and Jason Isaacs, Heavyweight follows a wildcard boxingcontender and his support team ahead of a title fight he doubts he can win. An intense & visceralexperience exploring a side of elite sport rarely seen. Honorable mention: Helena Berndl and Francesco Maria Gallo, In Symbiosis
Best U.K. cinematographyBruce Jackson, The Lonely MusketeerShot in monochrome in one claustrophobic main location, The Lonely Musketeer is a taut, stripped-back mystery thriller and a masterclass in low-budget filmmaking.
Spirit of Raindance AwardPalestine Comedy Club (director Alaa Aliabdallah, UK)When six Palestinian comedians hit the road to tour a stand-up show, their search for humour amidstthe injustice of everyday Palestinian life becomes a plea for humanity in the face of brutal war. Thisdocumentary feature is directed by Alaa Aliabdallah and produced by Raindance alumni CharlotteKnowles, previously CEO of the Independent Film Trust.
SHORTS PROGRAMBest live-action shortLittle Rebels Cinema Club (director Khozy Rizal, Indonesia)Set in 2008, Doddy, a 14-year-old boy, tries to recreate an iconic scene of a zombie film with three ofhis best friends.Best documentary shortThe Final Copy of Ilon Specht(director Ben Proudfoot, USA)From two-time Oscar winner Ben Proudfoot comes this intimate deathbed account of the unsungadvertising genius Ilon Specht who coined L'Oréal's iconic 'Because I'm Worth It' slogan in 1971, afour-word feminist manifesto that, against all odds, changed advertising forever.Best animation short Larval (director Alice Bloomfield, UK)Living life in isolation, a girl dreams of luxury and beauty, fantasizing about possessing the looks ofher celebrity idol and winning the heart of her unrequited love.BEST UK SHORT: THERE WILL COME SOFT RAINS (dir: Elham Ehsas, UK)Haunted by rising sea levels, a daughter digs up her father's grave to move his body to higher ground.
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