On Saturday evening, the curtain fell on the vibrant 22nd edition of the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF). For 9 days, over 55,000 festival-goers were able to explore the many aspects of genre cinema in the presence of our 122 guests. The International Jury awarded the prestigious H.R. Giger “Narcisse” Award for best feature film (CHF 10,000, granted by the City of Neuchâtel) to TIGER STRIPES, the first feature film from Amanda Nell Eu. The overall prize list gives prominence to emerging filmmakers. It also awarded the Imaging The Future Award (CHF 3,000, granted by Microcity) for best production design to Ti West's PEARL.
“Amanda Nell Eu managed to create a unique world that makes the audience experience the simultaneously realistic and fantastic adventures of a young girl that hits puberty in contemporary Malaysia. The maturity and the freshness of this debut feature convinced us. Granting it the award seemed like the obvious choice: we have discovered a new voice of fantastic cinema”, declared the International Jury during the Closing Ceremony about Amanda Nell Eu's first feature film.
THE NIFFF, THE UNMISSABLE EVENT OF THE SUMMER
The 159 screenings of NIFFF 2023 – in the Théâtre du Passage, the Cinepel theatres, and the Open Air on Place des Halles – have added up to over 34,400 cinema tickets sold. This is more than the 2022 numbers (28'234), and on par with the record numbers of 2019 (34,064). We are thrilled to see that the audience's enthusiasm for genre films never wanes, and that the NIFFF remains a key event in the Swiss film landscape. The NIFFF Extended conferences are also showing increased attendance, La Villa has given prominence to two immersive installations and to contemporary art performances, while festival-goers have enjoyed the bucolic atmosphere of the Jardin anglais day and night.
2023 PRIZE LIST
The NIFFF is happy to see three debut features from the Official Competition winning awards: TIGER STRIPES from Amanda Nell Eu, RAGING GRACE from Paris Zarcilla, and VINCENT DOIT MOURIR from Stéphan Castang. These films create very unique and personal worlds, and are a testament to the artistic, thematic, and geographic diversity of the programme. The new generation of filmmakers is also put in the spotlight with the winning short films: PIPES from Kilian Feusi, Jessica Meier, and Sujanth Ravichandran, SE DIT D'UN CERF QUI QUITTE SON BOIS from Salomé Crickx, and FOREIGNERS ONLY from Nuhash Humayun.
H. R. GIGER “NARCISSE” AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE FILM
(INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION)
CHF 10,000 granted by the City of Neuchâtel
TIGER STRIPES (Amanda Nell Eu, MY, TW, SG, FR, DE, NL, ID, QA, 2023)
Honourable mention: SUPERPOSITION (Karoline Lyngbye, DK, 2023)
Awarded by the international jury:
Josiane Balasko, Writer and director, FR
Veronika Franz, Writer and director, AT
Charles Burns, Illustrator and author of graphic novels, US
John McTiernan, Director, US
Olivier Babinet, Director, FR
IMAGING THE FUTURE AWARD FOR BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
(INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION)
CHF 3'000.- granted by Microcity
PEARL (Ti West, US, 2022)
Awarded by the international jury:
Josiane Balasko, Writer and director, FR
Veronika Franz, Writer and director, AT
Charles Burns, Illustrator and author of graphic novels, US
John McTiernan, Director, US
Olivier Babinet, Director, FR
INTERNATIONAL CRITICS AWARD
(INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION)
Honorary
RAGING GRACE (Paris Zarcilla, UK, 2023)
Awarded by the International Critics jury:
Anaïs Bordages, Journalist, FR (Podcast AMIES, SLATE)
Nicole Parker, Journalist, DE (DEADLINE)
Yal Sadat, Journalist and film critic, FR
YOUTH AWARD
(INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION)
Hamilton watch, granted by Hamilton Watch
RAGING GRACE (Paris Zarcilla, UK, 2023)
Awarded by the high schools Denis-de-Rougemont & Blaise-Cendrars
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST ASIAN FILM
(ASIAN COMPETITION)
Honorary
MARRY MY DEAD BODY (Cheng Wei-hao, TW, 2022)
Awarded by the audience
RTS AUDIENCE AWARD
(INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION)
Broadcasting rights
RAGING GRACE (Paris Zarcilla, UK, 2023)
Awarded by the audience
SILVER MÉLIÈS FOR BEST EUROPEAN FANTASTIC FEATURE FILM
Nomination
VINCENT DOIT MOURIR (Stéphan Castang, FR/BE, 2023)
Awarded by the Méliès jury:
Monica Garcia Massagué, SITGES Festival General Manager, ES
Carlota Pereda, Director, ES
Max Karli, Producer, CH
H. R. GIGER “NARCISSE” AWARD FOR BEST SWISS SHORT FILM
CHF 10'000.- granted by SSA and SUISSIMAGE
PIPES (Kilian Feusi, Jessica Meier, Sujanth Ravichandran, CH)
Honourable mention: DER MOLCHKONGRESS (Immanuel Esser, Matthias Sahli, CH, 2022)
Awarded by the SSA/SUISSIMAGE jury:
Marie-Lou Pahud, Producer, CH
Astrid Silva, Head of programming at Visions du Réel, CH
Dexter Maurer, Illustrator, CH
SILVER MÉLIÈS FOR BEST EUROPEAN FANTASTIC SHORT FILM
Nomination
SE DIT D'UN CERF QUI QUITTE SON BOIS (Salomé Crickx, BE, 2023)
Awarded by the SSA/SUISSIMAGE jury:
Marie-Lou Pahud, Producer, CH
Astrid Silva, Head of programming at Visions du Réel, CH
Dexter Maurer, Illustrator, CH
YOUTH AWARD
(SWISS SHORTS, INTERNATIONAL SHORTS, ASIAN SHORTS)
Honorary
FOREIGNERS ONLY (Nuhash Humayun, BD, 2022)
Awarded by the high schools Denis-de-Rougemont & Blaise-Cendrars
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM
(SWISS SHORTS, INTERNATIONAL SHORTS, ASIAN SHORTS)
Honorary
FOREIGNERS ONLY (Nuhash Humayun, BD, 2022)
Awarded by the audience
The 23rd edition of the NIFFF will take place from July 5th to July 13th, 2024.
