Letters From An Inner Exile triumphs at FIDMarseille

13/07/2026 – The film by Spanish filmmaker Eloy Enciso Cachafeiro triumphed in the International Competition, while Seul le serpent sait by Olivier Séror and Martin Verdet topped the French Competition

Composed of Mariano Llinas, Eszter Tompa and Jesse Cumming, the International Competition jury of the 37th Marseille International Film Festival – FIDMarseille has awarded its 2026 Grand Prize to Letters From An Inner Exile by Spain’s Eloy Enciso Cachafeiro. Produced by Filmika Galaika and Umbracle Cinema, the film confronts the collective amnesia which has ensured the reality of Francoist concentration camps – which were turned into instruments for the repression and liquidation of Republican forces in the immediate aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and throughout the early years of Franco’s dictatorship – has been erased from public consciousness. La Machina are handling the film’s international distribution.

The International Competition’s Georges de Beauregard Prize went to Foam of Worlds by Italy’s Anna Marziano, with two special mentions awarded to Last Stop for the Circular Ticket by France’s Jean-Claude Rousseau and The Red Anorak by Spain’s Adolpho Arrietta.

In the French Competition (whose jury included Louise Chevillotte and Andrea Inzerillo), victory went to Seul le serpent sait by directorial duo Olivier Séror and Martin Verdet (produced by Huckleberry Films and L’atelier documentaire), while the National Georges de Beauregard Prize was awarded to Agathe Bonitzer’s medium-length film Journal du futur.

Equally mention-worthy is the CNAP Prize (shining a light on experimental or innovative approaches), which was won by Pierre Creton’s short film, L’amour aurait suffi même à Nietzsche, while the First Film Competition singled out You Know Me, Now Forget It by Brazilian filmmaker Denise Vieira, and the audience crowned Mother, you have not died yet. But you will. And when you do, you will finally be alive again. by South African director Advik Beni.

At the 18th edition of the co-production platform FIDLab, the jury (Athina Rachel Tsangari, Wim Vanacker and Olivier Barbier) singled out, among others, the French project in development Ayoub’s Shore by Egyptian Muhammed Hamdy, which delves into a Red Sea resort complex built on a cemetery, where a grieving clairvoyant sends her daughter-in-law to summon the dead…

The winners are as follows:

International Competition

Grand Prize
Letters From An Inner Exile – Eloy Enciso Cachafeiro (Spain)

Georges de Beauregard Prize
Foam of Worlds – Anna Marziano (Italy/Germany)

Jury Special Mention
Last Stop for the Circular Ticket – Jean-Claude Rousseau (France)
The Red Anorak – Adolpho Arrietta (Spain/France)

French Competition

Grand Prize
Seul le serpent sait – Olivier Séror and Martin Verdet (France)

National Georges de Beauregard Prize
Journal du futur – Agathe Bonitzer (France, medium-length)

Jury Special Mention
Chicken Soup – Caroline Milcent (France)

Centre National des Arts Plastiques (CNAP) Prize
L’amour aurait suffi même à Nietzsche – Pierre Creton (France, short film)

First Film Competition

First Film Competition Award
You Know Me, Now Forget It – Denise Vieira (Brazil)

FIDMarseille Claudia Cardinale Foundation Award
A Requiem in Bishkek – Di Sica Ray (India/France)

Special Mentions
The Half-Finished Heaven – Huizhi Liu (China)
Easter – Mokya Shin (South Korea)

Flash Competition 

Flash Competition Award
Auf der Rückseite der Landschaft – Philipp Hartmann (Germany)

Mentions
Boyuna – Guillermo Quintero (France, short film)
Crónica del cansancio – Natalia Marín (Spain, short film)

Other awards

Distribution Support Award (in partnership with the GNCR)
Everything Else is Noise – Nicolás Pereda (Mexico/Germany/Canada)
Amnesty 1979 – Anita Leandro (Brazil) 

Audience Award
Mother, you have not died yet. But you will. And when you do, you will finally be alive again. – Advik Beni (South Africa/United States)

Renaud Victor Prize
Chicken Soup – Caroline Milcent (France)

Highschoolers Prize
Easter – Mokya Shin (South Korea)
Special Mention
Crónica del cansancio – Natalia Marín (Spain, short film)

Second Chance School Prize
Chicken Soup – Caroline Milcent
Special Mention
Al Zeeb – Rafael Guendelman (Chile/Qatar)

FIDLab

Casa de Velásquez Award
Ayoub’s Shore – Muhammed Hamdy
Production: Supernova Films (France)

Commune Image Award
Ciment (Cement) – Mathilde Girard
Production: Perspective Films (France)

DAFilms Award
Rising Sun (Soleil levant) – Mickael-Sltan Mbanza
Production: Alkebu Film Productions (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Twenty-nine Studio & Production (Belgium)

ECAM Award
Being Watched (Camgirl) – Julia Mellen
Production: Neurads (Spain)

GMEM Award
La Tirana – Sofia Bohdanowic
Production: Totem Atelier (France)

Jacob Burns Residency
East of Any Place – Amin Motallebzadeh (Germany)

Vigil (Vigilia) – Elena López Riera
Production: Alina Film (Switzerland), O Som e a Fúria (Portugal)

Kodak – Transperfect Award
Breathing Machine II (Respiración artificial II) – Clemente Castor
Production: Salón de Belleza (Mexico)

Label 42 Award
Untitled work/Dance project – Tyler Taormina
Production: Omnes Films (United States)

Sublimages Award
The Antiques (Las antigüedades) – Manque La Banca
Production: Pionera Cine (Argentina), Un Puma (Argentina), Mito Films (Colombia), Testaferro (Spain)

Vidéo de Poche Award
Waterfall of Youth – Kunsang Kyirong (Canada/Tibet)
Production: Migmar Pictures (Canada), White Crane Films (India), Salt For Sugar Films (France)

Porto/Post/Doc Film Festival collaboration
East of Any Place – Amin Motallebzadeh

(Translated from French)