Flesh and Fuel takes top Golden Eye at Zurich Film Festival
Pierre Le Gall's feature debut Flesh and Fuel has won the top Golden Eye prize at the 22nd Zurich Film Festival, according to Variety.
The award closes the festival's main competition. Zurich limits its Golden Eye competition categories to first, second or third directorial works, a rule that keeps the focus on directors at the start of their careers.
Flesh and Fuel stars Alexis Manenti and world premiered in Critics' Week at Cannes, Variety reported. Critics' Week is a parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival dedicated to first and second features, often used as a launchpad for new directors.
The competition juries in Zurich were led by director Cary Joji Fukunaga and anthropologist and film-maker Sine Plambech, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. Plambech previously won Zurich's Golden Eye in 2018 for Heartbound, which she co-directed with Janus Metz.
The Golden Eye for best documentary went to Pete Muller's Bucks Harbor, according to Variety. The film premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival, Berlin's programme for new independent and art-house cinema.
Two other narrative features were recognised with special mentions. Mads Mengel's The Guest and Zou Jing's A Girl Unknown both received special mentions from the narrative jury, Variety reported.
Three further prizes were decided outside the main juries. The Audience Award went to Andrina Mračnikar's Mila/Marija. The Critics Jury Award went to Heinz Bütler's Ebjää! Adolf Wölfli. The Science Award, for work engaging with scientific themes, went to Elisabeth Rasmussen's We Are Stardust.
Zurich also presents separate honorary Golden Eye awards to established screen figures. Tom Hiddleston received one such award at this year's edition, according to The Hollywood Reporter. John Turturro and Naomi Watts were also honoured at the 22nd festival, according to the festival's own overview.
Actor Leïla Bekhti was honoured with a Golden Eye for her performance in Violette, according to a festival announcement on Facebook. Violette is directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
What makes this stand out is the route the winners have taken. From Cannes Critics' Week to Berlin Panorama to Zurich, the top titles have moved through the European festival circuit step by step, picking up exposure in each city.
