Pamela Nomvete, star of SOMETIMES IN APRIL accepting SOMETIMES IN APRIL best film award from judge Buddhadeb Dasgupta

high resolution version of photo here

The International Jury unanimously decides to award the Best Film prize to SOMETIMES IN APRIL directed by Raoul Peck for his brilliant and unique representation of a part of African history which can be related to the present socio-political scene of Africa .

The cinematic excellence of the film coupled with vivid documentation leaves the audience with the question: how long will ethnic, religious and political violence continue on this earth?

Best South African Feature Film: Drum ( South Africa ), directed by Zola Maseko

The jury has selected DRUM as the best film in the South African section for granting a full and fresh humanity to a story that has been told many times before. Director Zola Maseko has extracted fine performances from a local cast. With strong production values and an authentic attention to detail, it is encouraging that a South African film can achieve such international resonance.

Best First Feature Film: Peacock ( China ), directed by Changwei Gu

The jury awards the prize for Best First Feature Film to PEACOCK (Kong Que) directed by Gu Changwei.

For its mature and assured melding of technical virtuosity with a moving and at times devastating portrayal of complex individuals. For an extraordinary vision, inspired cinematography and imagery and at its core a powerful, yet restrained revelation of parallel and highly subjective realities. The low key contemporary etching of idiosyncratic realities and a subversively, deconstructed narrative set the film firmly of this time and made the day to day desires of a small, working class family resonate with a profound universality, achieved with sensitivity and sophistication.

Best Direction: Hany Abu-Assad for Paradise Now (Palestine/Netherlands/Germany/France)

The award for Best Direction goes to Hany Abu-Assad for PARADISE NOW. The jury was deeply impressed by the subtle and forceful balance with which Abu-Assad tells his story.

The inner and outer conditions that two Palestinian suicide bombers are in reveals a point of view on human psychology that is neutral yet intimate.

With minimalist, stark cinematographic craft, Abu-Assad achieves an insight in a pragmatic, almost emotion-free microcosm of Palestinian society today.

Best Actress: Leleti Khumalo in Faiths Corner ( South Africa )

The jury prize for the best actress is for a woman who succeeds without using her voice to give us a compelling and insightful view of the life of a homeless mother in today's South Africa . Her modest struggle to make a living for her two sons is heartbreaking. The jury award for the Best Actress is for Leleti Khumalo in FAITH'S CORNER.

Best Actor: ensemble cast of Ouaga Saga (Burkina Faso/France)

One film in the international competition which struck the jury because of its optimism and joyfulness is Ouaga Saga by Dani Kouyate from Burkina Faso . In this well-paced comedy he portrays with much humour and striking details the daily life of a group of friends in Ouagadougou . The jury has decided to give the award to the ensemble of actors of Ouaga Saga for their excellent performances.

Best Cinematography: Lin Liangzhong for Season of the Horse ( China )

For its ability to capture the rapidly disappearing landscape and its emotional visualisation, and intimacy of a family dealing with change, the jury selects Lin Liangzhong, the cinematographer of THE SEASON OF THE HORSE.

Best Screenplay: Hendrik Holzemann for Offbeat (Germany/France)

Fast-paced, yet contemplative, the many physical and spiritual layers of the story and its leading character evolve. This is a remarkable first script in its ability to unfold a story that is dense and gripping from beginning to end. In a world that is falling apart, compassion is the driving force of the well-developed main character who breathes life into all that he passes through. The jury awards the Best Screenplay award to Hendrik Hölzemann for OFF BEAT.

Special Mention Feature Film: Zulu Love Letter ( South Africa ), directed by Ramadan Suleman

For its uncompromising view and success at tapping into the pulse of a community coming to terms with loss of beloved friends, for its portrayal from the heart of a mother seeking not only to heal herself but her daughter, the jury awards its Special Jury Prize to Ramadan Suleman's ZULU LOVE LETTER

Audience Choice Feature Film: Sometimes in April (Rwanda/USA), directed by Raoul Peck

Received the highest rating from audiences.

Best Documentary: Weapons of Mass Deception ( USA ), directed by Daniel Schechter

WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION pulls the plug on propaganda, left, right and centre, diligently and deftly implementing the best theory and practice of media criticism to unpack the American media's war on Iraq : it should be compulsory viewing before anyone reads a newspaper, watches the TV news, or views another documentary again.

Special Mention Documentary: The Take ( Canada ), directed by Avi Lewis

THE TAKE deserves special mention for its rare ability to allow stories and voices – and in this case the spark of a new global imagination - to speak for themselves. In this sense, it is film as ongoing conversation.

Best South African Documentary: Brown ( South Africa ), directed by Kali van der Merwe

A lavishing and dynamic, musical and visual composition, BROWN proves to be an intriguing document of self-discovery that confronts a moment in SA history in an attempt to understand the destiny of future generations

Special Mention South African Documentary: Born Into Struggle ( South Africa ), directed by Rehad Desai

Rehad Desai's BORN INTO THE STRUGGLE delicately merges the ‘personal and the political' in a film that reaches across the history of anti-apartheid struggle and plumbs to the intimate depths of that process's psychological and familial effects: all South Africans and their global compatriots participating in the efforts to destroy anti-democratic and authoritarian South Africa then – and now – will be moved by this testimony to a brave and complex man, his son (Desai), their families, and their countries.

Best Short Film: Engel and Broer ( Netherlands ), directed by Hanro Smitsman

ENGEL and BROER is commended for its superb storyline, excellent acting and direction of the child actors, and its wonderful humour.

Best South African Short Film: And There in The Dust ( South Africa ), directed by Lara Foot-Newton and Gerhad Marx

For the intensity of the telling but still avoiding the use of shocking visuals with such a gruesome crime committed. The use of puppets adds to the loudness of the silence from the society at large. •   

Monash University Best Newcomer Award (Short Films): Nina Mnaya for Life is Hard ( South Africa ) (this award is a one-week masterclass at the Monash University Film School ).

This slice of a life is told very strongly; it is believable and the pace and feeling of being trapped reaches out to make the viewer feel the endlessness of this cycle.

The awards to the winners of the Best Film, Best South African Feature Film and Best First Feature Film categories include cash prizes.

The festival thanks the juries for their time and expertise:

high resolution picture link here.

International Jury

Marianne Bhalotra-Hartman is the co-ordinator and selection committee member of the Hubert Bals Fund, International Film Festival Rotterdam. She worked on the International Film Festival Rotterdam from 1975 to 1986. She is a member of the Fonds d'Aide au Development du Scenario du Festival International du Film d`Amiens since 1999.

Wieland Speck i s a filmmaker and an author on film and philosophy. He has been the Director of the Berlin International Film Festival's Panorama section since 1992. His films include Escape to Life – The Erika and Klaus Mann Story (2000), Room 303 (1991) and Westler – East of the Wall (1985).

Maji-da Abdi was born in Ethiopia and is a director and producer of documentaries. She studied Literature and Business in Canada . Her first film shoot was in Nepal . She has produced a number of African feature films and has recently been involved in consulting with the African Union on African Cinema.

Akin Omotoso is an award-winning actor, director and a producer. He has appeared in productions such as Generations, Isidingo, and Big Okes . After directing a series of short films, he wrote, directed and produced his debut feature film God Is African in 2000. His recent works includes the short film Rifle Road and the documentary Gathering the Scattered Cousins.

Buddhadeb Dasgupta has established himself as one of India 's finest filmmakers and has won international acclaim for his 13 feature films. His films include Distance (1979), Crossroads (1982), The Return (1986), The Red Doors (1996), The Wrestlers (2000) and A Tale of a Naughty Girl (2002). He is also a celebrated Bengali writer and poet whose work has been translated into several languages.

Best First Feature Film Jury

Lisa Aziz , producer and director, Fineline Productions

Storm Janse Van Rensburg , curator,NSA Gallery

Jay Pather , choreographer and director, Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre  

Anand Naidoo , English Studies, UKZN

South Africa Feature Film Jury

Junaid Ahmed , producer and director, Fineline Productions

Peter Machen , journalist and critic

Madoda Ncayiyana , director, Vuleka Productions

Documentaries and South African Documentaries Jury

Amanda Alexander , Research Fellow, Centre for Civil Society, UKZN / "Shift the Lens" Media and Communications Workshops

Subeshini Moodley , Centre for Culture and Media Studies, UKZN

David Moore: Economic History and Development Studies, UKZN

Rasool Snyman , producer, Newtraxmedia

Short Films Jury

Julie Frederikse , producer Vuleka Productions

Gcina Mhlophe , actress filmmaker and story teller 

Pitika Ntuli , Executive Director of Organisational Culture, UKZN