Felix Awards go to Tangerine, The New Man and Sea Shore

Published in 10/11/2015

The Felix Award-winning films were announced this evening, Sunday the 11^th October. The jury – including filmmaker Daniel Ribeiro, director of The Way He Looks (Hoje eu quero voltar sozinho), Portuguese journalist and film critic Kathleen Gomes and journalist Gilberto Scofield – selected the crème from the 25 short-listed films.

The winners, along with the judges comments, are listed below.

Best Fiction Film: TANGERINE, Sean Baker

“Tangerine locates transgender issues at the heart of a narrative that is both lighthearted and serious. Shot entirely using iPhones, this work is a sincere portrait of the diversity of relationships to be found in any big city: an existential and truly contemporary story.”

Best Documentary: THE NEW MAN, Aldo Garay

“This is the fascinating story of an ex-guerrilla fighter, active during Nicaragua’s Sandinista revolution, now fighting to live as a woman and looking to make peace with past demons. One person’s journey of sexual discovery becomes a wider reflection of the complexity of human nature both in Latin America and globally.”

Special Jury Prize: SEAFRONT, Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon

“The film elegantly brings to the fore the melancholy and solitude of that all-too complicated coming-of-age process.”

The ceremony concluded with the awarding of the prestigious new prize, the Suzy Capó Award for Felix Personality of the Year, conceived in homage to individuals fighting for the LGBT+ cause. The trophy is created in the name of beloved Festival do Rio programmer and original creator of the Felix prize, Suzy Capó, who passed away earlier year.

We are thrilled to announce that the 2015 Suzy Capó award goes to the Brazilian television actress and personality Rogéria, a well-known and enthusiastic promoter of gay and transgender rights and a household name for over 50 years. Rogéria also starred in the documentary Tie and Red Nail (De gravata e unha vermelha) directed by Miriam Chnaiderman, that was awarded the Felix Prize for this category last year. The other prize winners from 2014 included Xenia, directed by Panos H. Koutras (Greece/ Françe), awarded Best Fiction Film, and 52 Tuesdays (Australia, 2014) directed by Sophie Hyde, awarded the Special Jury Prize.