A field of 4000 candidates for this year's festival was narrowed down to 40 by the selectors - from which we have had the tough task of choosing just a single winner. The entire jury was deeply impressed by the special, intimate proximity between the director and his protagonist, in a film which immerses the viewer in a crowded tableau - vivant and thus brings to life the claustrophobic and nurturing extremes of a unique community. It is an experience of life told from the inside, touching on some of the most important issues of our increasingly turbulent times. The Grand Prize goes to A Man Returned by Mahdi Fleifel.
