Ancestors wins FIPRESCI Prize at TIFF
Saturday, September 12th marked the World Premiere of David Turpin's 'Ancestors'. The film featured as a part of the Toronto International Film Festival's Discovery Programme and is David Turpin's directorial debut.
The premiere was attended by the film's leads Éanna Hardwicke, Jack Wolfe and Jessica Reynolds who later partook in brief Q+A after the screening. In director’s notes, Turpin describes Ancestors as “a séance, sharing that since he was born in the mid-1980s, “I belong to the last generation who grew up in the shadow of AIDS, severed from contact with so many of the ancestors who shaped my life. Ancestors like Beau. This film reaches out to them.”
The film took home the prestigious FIPRESCI Prize at the festival's closing ceremony. The jury remarked, "we as the jury, saw an extraordinary command of translating the dreamy landscape of memories and recollections into a compassionate cinematic language. It immersed us in someone else’s life, a long time of love and turmoil, a past that returns to photographs and memories to haunt, bringing longing and giving hope at once." Thank you to the FIPRESCI jury for the award.
Watch a teaser clip for 'Ancestors' below.
'Ancestors' is an Ireland-UK co-production produced by David Collins and Eamon Hughes for Samson Films alongside Miranda Ballesteros for Lunatica. The film is financed by Screen Ireland / Fís Éireann and BCP, with Mister Smith handling worldwide sales.
Thank you to Culture Ireland for the additional travel support.
