Nic Balthazar's feature-film debut, Ben X, shared with veteran director Claude Miller's Un Secret / A Secret the 31st Montreal World Film Festival's Grand Prix of the Americas.
Ben X tells the story of a mildly autistic boy who escapes from his miserable existence — he is constantly bullied at school — by playing intricate computer games. Balthazar's Dutch-language film is based on his own novel, which was inspired by the case of an autistic boy who committed suicide in Ghent. The novel became a bestseller in Belgium, and was later turned into a play.
In addition to the Grand Prix, Ben X also won the audience award and the Ecumenical Prize.
A Secret follows an European Jewish family during the course of World War II and beyond. The film stars Patrick Bruel, Ludivine Sagnier, Mathieu Amalric, Julie Depardieu, and Yves Jacques.
The Special Grand Prix of the jury went to Ayelet Menahemi's Noodle, the tale of a lonely El Al flight attendant, her equally lonely sister, and a Chinese boy who's left in their care by his (soon-to-be-deported) Chinese mother.
Among other top winners at the Montreal festival were best director Jacob Berger for 1 Day — in the life of a family; best actress Andrea Sawaktzki for The Other Boy / Der Andere Junge, about two suburban German families whose lives are turned upside down following a murder; best actors Filipe Duarte and Tomás Almeida for the Brazilian-Portuguese drama A Outra Margem / The Other Side (left), which follows a suicidal gay man who befriends a young man with Down's syndrome; and a best screenplay nod for writer-director Latif Lahlou's Moroccan drama Samira's Garden, about a married woman who has an affair with her impotent husband's nephew.
Montreal World Film Festival 2007 Awards – List of Winners
Montreal World Film Festival 2006 Winners
Montreal World Film Festival 2005 Winners
Montreal World Film Festival 2007 – World Competition Line-Up
Montreal World Film Festival 2007 – First Films World Competition
Montreal World Film Festival 2007 – Out of Competition Line-Up
Un Secret is a wonderful movie. Goo see it!