Montreal Film Festival: 'Hasta La Vista' Wins Top Prize

TORONTO -- The Belgian film Hasta La Vista, about three disabled young men on a road trip in Spain’s wine country to lose their virginity in a specialty bordello, was the big winner at the Montreal World Film Festival, which wrapped Sunday.

Director Geoffrey Enthoven's coming-of-age comedy, called Come As You Are for North American audiences, took home the top juried Grand prix des Americas trophy and was voted the most popular film at the Montreal festival by ordinary cinemagoers.

The Montreal jury, led by Spanish director Vicente Aranda, also gave its special Grand Prix award to Japanese director Masato Harada’s Chronicle of My Mother, which stars Koji Yakusho (13 Assassins), Kirin Kiki and Aoi Miyazaki.

The competition’s best director trophy went to German director Brigitte Maria Bertele for Der Brand, while the best actress prize went to Fatahmeh Motamed-Arya for her star-turn in Here Without Me, by Iranian director Bahram Tavakoli.

The juried best actor prize was shared by Borys Szyc for his performance in Kret, by Polish director Rafael Lewandowski, and Danny Huston for Playoff, by Eran Riklis, a sports drama where he plays an Israeli basketball coach and Holocaust survivor who manages the German national team.

And the best screenplay prize went to Emmanuel Mouret, for L’Art d’Aimer, which he also directed.

Among audience award winners in Montreal, Andre Forcier’s Coteau Rouge was named the most popular Canadian feature film, while the best Latin American film award went to El Dedo, by Sergio Teubal.

Coteau Rouge, starring Roy Dupuis and Céline Bonnier, opened the Montreal World Film Festival on Aug. 18.

The most popular documentary film was shared by Nicky’s Family, by Matej Minac, a Slovakia-Czech Republic co-production, and Bitter Taste of Freedom, by Marina Goldovskaya, a Swedish-Russian co-production.