Belarusian-set pic Mother Vera has picked up Locarno’s Creativity Media First Look Award, the biggest prize handed out by the festival’s industry section.
The award comes with a €50,000 ($55,000) cash prize that covers services towards the completion of films in post-production.
Filmmakers Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson co-directed the pic with producer Laura Shacham. Discussing their choice, the Locarno Pro jury — comprised of Ava Cahen (Artistic Director, La Semaine de la Critique Cannes), Gaia Furrer (Artistic Director, Giornate degli Autori), and Eugene Hernandez (Festival Director, Sundance Institute) — said: “From the opening moments of this film, we were immediately drawn to the strikingly photographed stark portrait of a fascinating nun in Belarus who makes a journey to France.
We congratulate filmmakers Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson and wish them the best with this new film, Mother Vera.” Embleton is a London-based filmmaker who has predominantly worked in docs.
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