It’s been a while since the sensational success of “The Queen’s Gambit,” but the fascination with chess continues to captivate audiences. The recent winner at Series Mania, “Rematch,” delves into the epic confrontation between the legendary chess player Garry Kasparov and IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue.
Despite a lukewarm reception, “Apples Never Fall” managed to earn Annette Bening the coveted title of Best Actress. This Peacock offering, featuring Sam Neill and Alison Brie, is the latest adaptation from Liane Moriarty, the brilliant mind behind “Big Little Lies” and “Nine Perfect Strangers.” The series revolves around a seemingly perfect family forced to confront uncomfortable questions after the disappearance of their beloved matriarch. One burning question looms: Did their beloved father have something to do with it?
Jury member Berenice Bejo read out a brief message of gratitude from Bening, who described the series as a “labor of love.” Kamel El Basha, who portrays the progressive Sheikh Mohammad in “House of Gods,” won Best Actor. His performance was hailed as “magnetic” by Variety. El Basha graciously acknowledged the significance of his win: “Thank you very, very much. You believed in a Palestinian actor.”
The intriguing series “Herrhausen – The Banker and the Bomb” also garnered attention. Starring Oliver Masucci from “Dark” as Alfred Herrhausen, the chairman of Deutsche Bank whose assassination remains unsolved, the show received the award for Best Writing. The International Competition jury praised the series for its boldness, remarking that it reflected the audacity of its subject matter. Masucci emphasized Herrhausen’s forward-thinking nature: “He was a humane banker, always looking into the future. What you see in this show is a person who tries to do something new, but others prevent him from doing it. They say, ‘We have never done it before.’ He says, ‘That’s the definition of the word ‘new’.”
Politics took center stage not only in the German series but also in other shows hoping to recreate the allure of “House of Cards.” France’s “In the Shadows” and Sweden’s “8 Months” tackled the formerly fantastical concept of joining NATO. Jens Jonsson, the creator of “8 Months,” shared his inspiration: “After the show was greenlit, Ukraine was invaded by Russia. All of a sudden, people started to ask, ‘Should we join?’ And look at us now.”
Daniel Lawrence Taylor’s well-received “Boarders” combined comedy with a brutally honest portrayal of Britain’s private schools, where five Black students are granted life-changing scholarships. The series demonstrated the importance of delivering dark storylines and social critique in an entertaining way. Jodie Campbell, one of the show’s actors, observed, “Comedy gets people engaged, it makes them feel happy, but it’s also a great way to push forward conversation points that many are dreading.”
Laughter and excruciating pain coexisted in the Spanish revelation “La Mesias,” recognized for its direction and recipient of the Student’s Prize. Similarly, “After the Party” seized attention as Robyn Malcom won the International Panorama award for her portrayal of a woman accusing her own husband, played by Peter Mullan, of sexually abusing her daughter’s friend. Javier Ambrossi, accepting the Student Award, expressed his gratitude: “This award makes me so happy because it comes from the smartest audience in the world: young people who have grown up knowing about content. We have to protect them from the algorithm.”
Lastly, the Riga-set series “Soviet Jeans,” a festival favorite, humorously explored the darkest political times and earned the Audience Award. Lead actor Karlis Arnolds Avots received well-deserved accolades for his performance. Teodora Markova, one of the showrunners, highlighted the resilience of the people during communism: “People used to joke during communism too: humor was their main survival mechanism. They still lived, loved, and laughed. Most of them had to learn how to trick the system, which was really our starting point.”
Full List of Awards:
International Competition:
- Grand Prize: “Rematch”
- Best Actress: Annette Bening, “Apples Never Fall”
- Best Actor: Kamel El Basha, “House of Gods”
- Best Writing: “Herrhausen – The Banker and the Bomb”
International Panorama:
- Best Series: “Dates in Real Life”
- Best Actress: Robyn Malcolm, “After the Party”
- Best Actor: Karlis Arnolds Avots, “Soviet Jeans”
- Best Direction: “Las Mesias”
- Student Award for Best Series: “Las Mesias”
French Competition:
- Best Series: “Machine”
- Best Actress: Tiphaine Daviot, “Murder Club”
- Best Actor: Jérémy Gillet, “A Dangerous Friendship”
- Best Original Score: Julie Roué, “The World Doesn’t Exist”
Short Form Competition:
- Best Series: “Those Who Blush”
Comedy Competition:
- Best Series by a High School Students Jury of the Hauts-de-France: “Videoland”
- Audience Award: “Soviet Jeans”
Source link: F5mag.com