Mariam Khatchvani wins Cannes Film Meetings Grand Prix for ’Dede’

Award-winning feature film Dede by Georgian filmmaker Mariam Khatchvani has been announced as the Grand Prix winning entry of the Cannes Film Meetings competition, finishing ahead of prized competition last weekend.

Shortlisted for the contest granting awards by celebrated film professionals, the feature was unveiled as the principal prize winner on Sunday.

Khatchvani’s work competed for the award with seven other films distinguished at international festivals throughout this year.

The Grand Prix and other prizes of the competition were awarded by a jury team that included screenwriter and actor Caroline Deruas, director Bob Swaim and actor Loup-Denis Elion.

The judges gathered from November 20-26 to pick winners for two prizes within the 30th edition of the Meetings.

For Dede the latest honour follows prizes claimed by the film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival this year.

The feature follows Dina, a young woman in Georgia’s remote, mountainous Svaneti province. Her grandfather has agreed Dina to be married to a young man coming back to the village from war, however she falls in love with another warrior returning from the conflict.

The Cannes Film Meetings also awarded the Francois Chalais Prize, French Cinema Critics Prize and the Audience Prize to The Insult by Ziad Doueiri, while Tunisia 2045 by Ted Hardy-Carnac received the Best Short Film award.