The French director Damien Manivel wins the NTR Early Bird Award 2011 for his ‘La dame au chien’. Manivel was not present at the festival, but thanked the IFFB, the judges and the audience in a video message from France. See the  

The jury, consisting of Rene van Engelenburg, Alex Taylor and Eric de Haas praised ‘La dame au chien’ for its ‘innovative sense for narrative, perfectly combined with strong casting and an uncanny tension. The film leaves the audience with questions, not to tease or deliberately be abstract, but as a result of the uncomfortable shame concerning your own thoughts. 

The Belgian/French production ‘Thermes’ from director Banu Akseki got a ‘special mention’ from the judges. They called the film “a surprisingly complete short film. It’s a sensitive portrait in which the collision of two different worlds comes to the screen. The craftsmanship required to balance this constantly moving narrative is very, very promising.”

Watch de video message of Manivel, which he recorded for the festival on the Early Bird Blog.