French director Pierre Le Gall’s debut feature Flesh and Fuel won the Golden Eye for best film at the 22nd Zurich Film Festival on Saturday. The award includes a 25,000 Swiss franc prize.
The romantic drama had its world premiere in the Critics’ Week section of the Cannes Film Festival in May, where it also won the Queer Palm Revelation prize.
Why the jury picked Flesh and Fuel
The jury said the film speaks to the basic human need for connection. Its statement called the film a “deeply cinematic” reflection on the desire to love and be loved.
The feature competition jury was led by Cary Joji Fukunaga and also included directors Fernando Eimbcke, actress Ella Rumpf, producer Julie Billy and editor Walter Fasano.
The story of a trucker romance
The film follows Étienne, a French long-haul truck driver, whose solitary routine changes when he meets Bartosz, a Polish trucker. Their chance meeting grows into a cross-border romance.
Alexis Manenti plays Étienne. He won the César for most promising actor for Les Misérables.
Other Zurich Film Festival winners
Pete Muller’s Bucks Harbor, a documentary about young fishermen coming of age in Downeast Maine, won the Golden Eye for best documentary. Heinz Bütler’s Ebjä! Adolf Wölfli took the critics’ prize for best Swiss debut.
For more festival coverage, see our reports on the Denver Film Festival honorees, the London Film Festival jury and the Tokyo Film Festival lineup. Full details on the winners are on the Zurich Film Festival website.
What’s next
No release dates or distribution plans for Flesh and Fuel have been announced.
