The Prix RÉALS aim to recognize ARRQ members who have demonstrated daring, originality, and/or taken creative and narrative risks in their work, or in a part of their work (such as a scene, title sequence, technological innovation, shot, etc.) that was broadcast over the past year. We invite you to discover the 2024 winners for free!
Winner of the 2023 Prix RÉAL - Documentary work
Canada representative in the race for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film 2024
ROJEK meets incarcerated members of the Islamic State, and their wives detained in prison camps, from all over the world and sharing a common ideal: to establish a caliphate. Confronted with the fundamentalist beliefs of the jihadists, the film attempts to trace the beginning, the rise and the fall of the Islamic State (IS) through their personal stories. These conversations constitute the common thread of the documentary through which various sequences describing post-war Syrian Kurdistan intertwine.
Zaynê Akyol
A graduate of UQAM's École des médias, Zaynê Akyol won the Prix du meilleur espoir en cinéma documentaire awarded by the Chaire René-Malo, associated with the National Film Board of Canada. She is also completing a Master's degree in Communications, with a specialization in cinema, focusing her research on relational and creative issues in documentary film. Juggling theory and practice, it was in 2016 that Zaynê directed her first feature-length documentary, Gulîstan, terre de roses, which portrays Kurdish women fighters at war against Daech (the Islamic State). This personal work was noticed by several international festivals and collected over 80 selections, 50 nominations and 12 awards, including the prestigious Doc Alliance Award at the Locarno Festival. Her interest in images and politics also led her to photography. Her first widely acclaimed exhibition, Rojekê, un jour (2016), tells the story of resistance through female faces.
ROJEK, his second feature film set in Kurdish territory, premiered at the Visions du Réel 2022 Film Festival in Nyon, Switzerland. It has been screened at festivals around the world, including the Special Jury Prize at the Hot Docs 2022 Canadian International Film Festival. To make this film based on conversations with Islamic State members in captivity in Syria and elsewhere, she had to deploy all her negotiating skills. Not just anyone can enter these militarized zones! Full of courage and determination, Zaynê says she wants to be a source of inspiration for young filmmakers, especially Middle Eastern women, so that they can realize their dreams and leave their mark on society.
Released in Quebec theaters in January 2023, ROJEK was chosen in August by a pan-Canadian jury to represent Canada in the Oscar race for Best International Film.
Explore
