On Saturday November 10 Funchal festival closed a blissful 10 day event with a gala ceremony at the large convention center in front of a 700 crowd.
The laser Man show launched the evening.
The prize list came with many surprises and moments of emotion from the selected talent.
The jury was composed of Elisa Tolomelli (producer), Bruno Chatelin (co founder of filmfestivals.com and fest21.com), Malu de Martino (director), José António Santos (Director of photography) and José Vieira Mendes (journalist).
Bliss was the big winner of the night taking 3 of the awards: best film, best director Abdullah OGUZ and best actress Özgu Namal
BLISS / MUTLULUK Directed by: Abdullah OGUZ
2007 Drama 126 min Turkey

17-year-old Meryem is found desolated and unconscious by a lake. Her family, who lives in a village in the east of Turkey, thinks that she has willingly had her chastity corrupted, and decides on killing her by the necessity of customs. The task is given to her close relative Cemal. Meanwhile, a well-known sociology Professor İrfan Kurudal sets sail, leaving the life he lived in İstanbul as a result of the identity crisis he has been going through.
Meryem and Cemal’s path crosses with professor İrfan Kurudal unexpectedly on the journey of death they take. Are these three people, who set out for freedom and a second chance in life, going to be able to overcome their destiny on this journey?

Best screenplay was awarded to Pilar ANGUITA-MACKAY (director and writer ) for LA MEMOIRE DES AUTRES
On a wintry weekend, three young adults reunite to decide to help their terminally-ill mother die,and in doing so they find themselves arguing bitterly about whether they blame her for their father’s death years ago. Compelled to recall the tragic accident their versions contradict one another as we see each one’s memory of the events leading up to the death.
For the first time, each is forced to confess their own feelings of responsibility for the accident and, in doing so, they finally realize the truth. At the weekend’s close, liberated from the guilty that has oppressed each of them for years, they are able to release their mother from her pain

Özgu Namal was rated best actress in BLISS / MUTLULUK (Directed by: Abdullah OGUZ)

Best actor for Lima Duarte in AFTER THAT BALL (Directed by: Roberto BOMTEMPO 2005 Fiction 108min Brasil)

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The jury special prize went to EN LA CAMA (Directed by: Matías BIZE Drama 85min Chile/Alemanha)

Synopsis
In bed… the place where you love, where you dream –and where you betray. Two strangers loving each other, clinging to each other, betraying the other – becoming intimates, finding love and losing it in only one night.
In a cheap motel room Daniela and Bruno spend the night together. They hardly know the other one, only met a few hours ago in a café. Two strangers, who get to know each other in only one night. Memories and dreams, truths and lies, fear and desires, betrayal and honesty, love and hate are all closely entwined in that night.
Behind the veil of words two strangers become intimates but with the light of the sunrise this intimacy will already belong to the past.

URANYA Directed by: Costas KAPAKAS received the audience award
2006 Comedy/Drama 95min Greece

Synopsis
In a small village, five teenagers are eager to discover love and the whole world. Greece is living under the tyrannical rule of the military junta and its oppression is felt everywhere. It
is in this atmosphere that the youngsters grow up on dreams, prejudices, secrets and lies.
The summer of 1969 marks a turning point in their lives. Uranya is a very beautiful lady who lives just outside the village in a house by the sea. The kids swear a joint oath: to save enough money so they can visit Uranya and be initiated in the mysteries of love. When faced with the great dilemma of whether to buy the first black-and-white television set so they can watch the landing on the moon or remain true to their oath and pay Uranya a visit, the boys fall out and Achilles finds himself alone. Will they finally break the oath they took for Uranya’s sake or will the prospect of watching the moon landing be too tempting? Fortunately the film’s deus ex machina knows his job very well…

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