Brazilian director Tiago Melo has won the Bright Future Award at the 47th edition of the Rotterdam Film Festival for his debut feature film Azougue Nazaré. The jury gave the award to the Brazilian film "for its singular vision, electrifying cinematic language, depiction of the explosive coexistence between good and evil, and for its ability to incorporate supernatural elements in an almost anthropological portrait of a small community." The award is presented with a cash prize of €10,000.
Set in Nazaré da Mata, a small town near Recife in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, Azougue Nazaré follows a group of men and women leading up to carnival rooted in the local maracatu traditions. As they wrestle with everyday problems, weird and maybe even supernatural events take place in the town. Who or what are the strange apparitions in the sugarcane field?
Additionally, the Argentinean film Zama by Lucrecia Martel was presented with the KNF Award, given by a jury from the Circle of Dutch Film Journalists to the best Dutch, or Dutch co-produced feature film.
The 47th edition of the Rotterdam Film Festival took place January 24 - February 4 in the Netherlands.
