President of the jury was Bart de Pauw (‘Quiz me Quick’ and screenplay writer for ‘Loft’), the members this year were Barbara Sarafian (actress, ‘Aanrijding in Moscou’, ‘Allez Eddy!’ and ‘Brasserie Romantiek’), Johan Heldenbergh (actor, ‘De Helaasheid der Dingen’ and ‘The Broken Circle Breakdown’), Chris Lomme (actress, ‘Schipper Naast Mathilde’, ‘Christmas in Paris’ and ‘Soeur Sourire’), Hilde de Laere (producer, ‘De Zaak Alzheimer’, ‘Windkracht 10 : Koksijde Rescue’, 3 versions of ‘Loft’), Tim Vanhamel (rock musician, bands include ‘Evil Superstars, Millionaire’ and ‘Broken Glass Heroes’), Michael Borremans (Flemish painter), Hans Herbots (director of ‘Falling’, ‘Verlengd Weekend’, ‘Bo’ and ‘Het Goddelijke Monster’, alsof of ‘The Spiral’, currently on television), Ruben Impens (director of photography on films such as ‘Aanrijding in Moscou’, ‘De Helaasheid der Dingen’ and ‘Adem’), Frieda van Wijck (host of ‘De Klas van Frieda’), and Rik D’Hiet (screenplay writer for ‘Flikken’, ‘Het Goddelijke Monster’ and ‘Zot van A.’).
From a rather homogenous film selection in 2012, this jury finally delivered quite a balanced list of winners, albeit far from based on compromise. The list of winners rewards the film co-financed by Wallimage/Bruxellimage, as the Walloon and Brusselian funds received eight awards in total on this night.
The Invader, co-produced by Versus, won four times: three technical awards for best music, best photography, and best costumes (for Nathalie Leborgne, from Uccle), and the much coveted Ensor for best director for Nicolas Provost.
The other big winner of the night was Tot Altijd, with three awards: Philippe Rayout is rewarded for his editing and Geert Van Rampelberg is crowned best actor of the year. However, the best was to come for Nic Balthazar, since his second feature film received the ultimate award at the end of the night: the 2012 Ensor for Best Film.
Finally, one last prize for Wallimage : the Ensor for best Walloon co-production went to Joachim Lafosse’s À perdre la raison, rather unsurprisingly since the national selection committee selected the film as Belgium’s next representative in the race for the Oscars. A favourite confirming here in Ostend that it is indeed one of the driving forces of the national production in 2012. Perhaps revealing for the upcoming Magrittes? In any case, Joachim delivered a memorable acceptance speech.
Note also that Pierre Drouot, CEO of the VAF, received the Flemish Community Award for Cinema and that Michael R. Roskam and Matthias Schoenaerts received two special awards to celebrate their exceptional year. These two artists have done so much for the reputation of Belgium throughout the world that these awards couldn’t bypass them.
Complete list of winners:
Best Film : The Invader
Best Director: Nicolas Provost
Best Actor : Geert Van Rampelberg (Tot Altijd)
Best Actress : Evelien Bosmans (Groenten uit Balen)
Best actor in a secondary role : Lucas Van den Eynde (Groenten uit Balen)
Best actress in a secondary role : Tiny Bertels (Groenten uit Balen)
Revelation 2012 (actors and actresses) : Tom Audenaert (Hasta la Vista)
Best screenplay : Pierre De Clercq (Hasta la Vista)
Best photography : Franck van den Eeden (The Invader)
Best music : Evgueni Galperine (The Invader)
Best editing : Philippe Ravoet (Tot Altijd)
Best costumes : Nathalie Leborgne (L’Envahisseur)
Best art direction : Hubert Pouille (Swooni).
Best co-production with Wallonia : À perdre la raison by Joachim Lafosse
Merit Ensor of 2012 : Michael R.Roskam et Matthias Schoenaert
Flemish Community Film Award : Pierre Drouot.
