Tie leads to two Best Film winners at Ensor awards
Michaël A Roskam’s Le Fidèle took home the most awards for the best in Flemish cinema at the weekend, including tying for Best Film with Zagros
Tabula Rasa is Best Series
Unusually, there was a tie for first place, with Zagros and Le Fidèle earning exactly the same number of votes from the Ensor Academy, which includes members of Flanders’ film industry guilds and unions.
With nine nominations next to Cargo’s 10, Le Fidèle was a favourite on the night. It went on to win a total six Ensors, making it the ceremony’s biggest winner.
Along with Best Film, Le Fidèle took home trophies for Best Director (Michaël R Roskam), Best Actor (Matthias Schoenaerts), Best Production Design, Best Editing (Alain Dessauvage) and Best Director of Photography (Nicolas Karakatsanis).
Upset for Cargo
Zagros additionally took home the prize for Best Script, while Cargo had to settle for one award: Best Music. The award for Best Actress went to Natali Broods for her role in Façades. The film Rabot won for Best Documentary, while Best Youth Film went to Rosie & Moussa.
The Ensor awards honoured the best in television series for the first time this year, with the favourite Tabula Rasa taking home five trophies: Best Series, Best Director, Best Script, Best Actress (Veerle Baetens) and Best Actor (Peter Van den Begin).
The Ostend Film Festival, meanwhile, had a successful 12th edition, with 45,000 visitors. Among the highlights of the nine-day event were appearances by Matthias Schoenaerts, Jean-Claude Van Damme and British actor Rupert Everett, in town to talk about his new film The Happy Prince.
Photo, from left: Le Fidèle producer Bart Van Langendonck and director Michaël R Roskam, Zagros director Sahim Omar Kalifa
©Nicolas Maeterlinck/BELGA
