INTERNATIONAL FILM COMPETITION
AWARDS 2019
SMART Prize
"The Advocate", Rachel Leah Jones & Philippe Bellaïache
Out of a selection of 15 films presented to us, the jury members opted to award the Smart Prize to the film Advocate by Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaïche.
The Smart jury was especially moved by the exceptional journey of Léa Tsemel, whose story is told via testimonials from her family and friends as she goes about her daily work routine. We discover a strong woman, full of humour, amid a particularly tense political and religious context. She’s a lawyer who, according to her colleagues, defends the indefensible, but who in the end fights for the very principle of the right to justice.
This film pushes us to consider the judicial system overall and negotiations with judges which, these days, seem to take precedence over the matter of guilt and facts.
In each scene, a perfect balance is struck between identification with and distance from the subject.
Concealing the identity of minors involved in legal cases was carefully ensured courtesy of specific graphic choices, which lends the production an interesting poetic feel.