‘KUESSIPAN’ wins inaugural prize in Canadian Film category at WIFF

‘KUESSIPAN,’ a film directed by Myriam Verreault, won the inaugural prize in the Canadian Film category at the Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF). The prize, with a $10,000 cash reward, was announced Sunday at WIFF’s closing ceremony.

According to WIFF, the winner was determined by an external jury, consisting of Joshua Riehl, director of documentary film ‘The Russian Five,” Karen Bruce, executive director for Women in Film and Television, Toronto, and Isabelle Corriveau, producer for Radio-Canada. WIFF announced the nominees for the prize in September and the nominees were selected by the festival’s programming team.

The winning film ‘KUESSIPAN’ is an adaptation of a novel from Canadian writer, Naomi Fontaine. The story revolves around two young women of the Innu community and the test of their life-long friendship when one of them falls in love with a white boy. This award isn’t the first for the film.

“It’s an emotional film that draws you into their lives, their loves, their hardships and their desire to be happy. This film is pure cinematic storytelling at its best,” said jury president, Karen Bruce.

The film also won the top prize at the 2019 Quebec City Film Festival. The film also received a special mention in the emerging Canadian director category at the Vancouver International Film Festival.