– Shady Srour’s Fadia has won Best Film, Best Actress and the Jury Special Prize, whilst The Uniform and Gomorrah – The Origins also scored major fiction wins
The team behind The Uniform on stage
From 12-16 June, the Grimaldi Forum hosted the 65th edition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, which wrapped with the unveiling of this year’s Golden Nymph Awards. The competition, devoted to television and streaming works, brought together fiction, feature reports and news, digital productions and environmentally themed documentaries competing for the Prince Rainier III Special Prize.
The event came to a close on 16 June with the closing ceremony hosted by Ricky Whittle and Louise Ekland in the Salle des Princes. It was held in the presence of Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco, who honoured the winners and presented several major distinctions before the sizeable audience.
The biggest winner of the fiction strand was Fadia, staged by Cinema Virgin and hailing from Palestine and Israel. Shady Srour’s drama, which centres on a young woman targeted in the name of “family honour” and rescued after a brutal act of violence, won Best Film and the Jury Special Prize, while Yara Jarrar was named Best Actress for her performance in the title role.
Europe also made a strong showing among the fiction winners. Denmark’s The Uniform, produced by Miso Film, took home Best Series. The Nordic police-academy drama, which has already proven a major success for DR, follows the fallout from a fatal shooting involving a trainee, and examines the pressure, loyalty and institutional tensions surrounding the training of young officers. Italy, meanwhile, was represented by Sky Studios and Cattleya – part of ITV Studios – whose Gomorrah – The Origins snagged Best Creation. The six-part prequel to the hit crime saga Gomorrah, inspired by Roberto Saviano’s universe, traces the criminal coming of age of young Pietro Savastano in 1977 Naples.
Next, the Best Actor Award went to Johannes Hegemann for Olivia, from Germany, while the BetaSeries Public Prize was bestowed upon the US production Ponies, produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
In the Feature Reports & News strand, Sweden’s Mission Investigate: The Hunt, produced by Sveriges Television (SVT), got the gong for Best Social or Cultural Feature Report. The Scandi investigative title follows police work targeting online crimes against children and forms part of SVT’s long-running “Uppdrag granskning” current-affairs strand. Moreover, the Best Geopolitical or Conflict Feature Report Award went to the French production La Guerre, Donald Trump et nous, a co-production by Elephant and Mile Production with France Télévisions. Meanwhile, the Jury Special Prize in the section was awarded to Into the Void: Putin’s Foreign Fighters, produced by the BBC.
In the Digital category, freshly introduced this year, Best Original Digital Creation was awarded to South Korea’s Next-Door Families – What Makes a Family?, from KBS and Yoo Kyung-Hyun. In addition, the Best Documentary Digital Format Award went to France’s La face cachée de l’aéroport CDG la nuit, produced by OK Charlotte.
The Prince Rainier III Special Prize, dedicated to environmental issues, went to PFAS, Our Forever Poisons, produced by Brotherfilms and Dancing Dog Productions, and hailing from France and Belgium. Among the Special Prizes, the AMADE Prize was given to the French title Child Protection: The Scandal of Minors in Prostitution, produced by Dreamway, while the Monaco Red Cross Prize went to Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab.
The Fiction jury was chaired by British actress Lesley Manville, and included Kevin McKidd, Greg Daniels, Hojin Kwon, Frédérique Bel and Yasmin Finney. The Feature Reports & News jury was chaired by US filmmaker Joshua Seftel, and also comprised Mouhssine Ennaimi, Hélène Mannarino and Margo Smit. Finally, the Digital jury was chaired by Susanne Daniels, former global head of Original Content at YouTube, alongside Luke Hyams and Morgan Niquet.
On the opening day, the festival honoured several major figures from the television world. Spanish actress Ester Expósito received the International Golden Nymph for Most Promising Talent, following her global breakthrough in Elite. Michel Drucker was presented with the Honorary Nymph Award for his six-decade contribution to French-language television, while Kristin Scott Thomas received the Crystal Nymph in recognition of her distinguished international career. The festival also hosted the international premiere of the first two episodes of the third season of The Walking Dead: Dead City.
During the closing ceremony, Kurt Russell was presented with the Crystal Nymph, honouring his six-decade career and major contribution to international entertainment. Princess Charlene of Monaco also handed the International Golden Nymph for Most Promising Talent to British thesp Matthew Broome.
Here is the full list of winners at this year’s edition:
Fiction
Best Film
Fadia – Shady Srour (Palestine/Israel)
Best Series
The Uniform – Jonas Alexander Arnby (Denmark)
Best Creation
Gomorrah – The Origins – Marco D’Amore, Francesco Ghiaccio (Italy)
Best Actress
Yara Jarrar – Fadia
Best Actor
Johannes Hegemann – Olivia (Germany)
Jury Special Prize
Fadia – Shady Srour
Public Prize
Public Prize in partnership with BetaSeries
Ponies – Susanna Fogel, Ally Pankiw, Viet Nguyen (USA)
Feature Reports & News
Best Social or Cultural Feature Report
Mission Investigate: The Hunt – Diamant Salihu, Henrik Bergsten (Sweden)
Best Geopolitical or Conflict Feature Report
La Guerre, Donald Trump et nous – Guy Lagache (France)
Jury Special Prize
Into the Void: Putin’s Foreign Fighters – Philip Pendlebury (UK)
Digital
Best Original Digital Creation
Next-Door Families – What Makes a Family? – Yoo Kyung-Hyun (South Korea)
Best Documentary Digital Format
La face cachée de l’aéroport CDG la nuit – Charlotte Vautier (France)
Prince Rainier III Special Prize
PFAS, Our Forever Poisons – Stenka Quillet, Quentin Noirfalisse (France/Belgium)
Special Prizes
AMADE Prize
Child Protection: The Scandal of Minors in Prostitution – Mélanie Nunes (France)
Monaco Red Cross Prize
The Voice of Hind Rajab – Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia/France)
International Golden Nymph for Most Promising Talent
Ester Expósito
Matthew Broome
Honorary Nymph Award
Michel Drucker
Crystal Nymph
Kristin Scott Thomas
Kurt Russell
