Brazilian writer-director Beatriz Seigner’s “Los Silencios” won this year’s Impact Award at Stockholm Film Festival.
The film, which world premiered at Cannes’s Directors Fortnight, is a supernatural drama about a family torn by Colombia’s civil conflict.
Seigner’s sophomore outing, “Los Silencios” beat out strong contenders including Brady Corbet’s “Vox Lux” and Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra’s “Birds of Passage.”
The Impact Award is meant to highlight films that are politically minded and reflect today’s world in innovative ways. This year’s theme among the nominated films was the impact of armed conflicts on lives and relationships.
The festival praised “Los Silencios” for the “strong characters portrayed — especially the mother and her son; and the way it tackles big issues in a changing country” with an “intimate” approach.
“We connect with the characters and through them we learn about the issues of refugees, the peace process underway and how to forgive and move on, if possible,” added the festival in a statement.
“Los Silencios” follows a Colombian woman who lost her husband and daughter in the recent civil war between left-wing insurgents and the Colombian government, and embarks on a journey across the Amazonian region to emigrate to Brazil.
The film was produced by Miriade Filmes, Enquadramento Producoes, Cine-Sud Promotion. Seigner produced the film with Leonardo Mecchi, Thierry Lenouvel and Daniel Garcia.
Seigner made her feature debut with “Bollywood Dream,” about three Brazilian actresses decide to go to Índia to break into the Bollywood film industry.
The 29th edition of Stockholm Film Festival wraps Nov. 18.