World Film Festival Montreal
August 26 - September 6, 2004

As chosen by the six members of the Ecumenical Jury, coming from France, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Canada and the United States, the Ecumenical Prize goes to

 HACALA HASURIT (The Syrian Bride) by Eran Riklis
Israel/France/Germany 2004

The Jury justified its decision as follows:
In the present-day Golan Heights, a wedding turns into an epic drama. This film shows the courageous choices that have to be made in order to overcome the emotional and political barriers that separate families and peoples. The Ecumenical Prize goes to a film of high artistic quality that confronts injustice and has universal significance.

Synopsis:
Mona's wedding day is the saddest day of her life. Once she crosses the border between Israel and Syria to marry Syrian TV star Tallel, she will never be allowed back to her family in Majdal Shams, a Druze village in the Golan Heights currently under Israeli control. The story of Mona's wedding day is a story about physical, mental and emotional borders and the will to cross them. A story about a family torn apart by differences of tradition, politics and prejudice: the tough, political father, the playboy brother, the outcast elder brother, and Amal, the elder sister, a modern woman trapped in a culture and tradition she wants to break out of. In the Middle East, once a border is crossed, there is often no way back, and at the end of a long day the bride, her family, the government and military officials gathered on both sides of the border find themselves facing an uncertain future, trapped in no man's land. "THE SYRIAN BRIDE is an attempt to contribute by creating a film out of love. Love of freedom, love for the spirit of freedom, love for the physical and emotional landscapes that surround us, all of us. A love for women who fight for their place in the world and a love for people who still dream and hope -- here, across the border, everywhere." -- Eran Riklis

Eran Riklis
Born in Jerusalem in 1954, Eran Riklas studied cinema at Tel Aviv University before graduating from the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, England in 1982. He has directed films for cinema and television since 1984. As well, he has directed and/or produced over 300 commercials and industrial films in Israel and England. Selected filmography: ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE DAMASCUS (1984), CUP FINAL (1991), ZOHAR (1993) VULCAN JUNCTION (1999, shown at the Montreal World Film Festival), Borders (1999), TEMPTATION (2002).

The members of the 2004 Jury are: Philip Lee (U.K., president of the jury), Viviane Borderie (France), Catherine Wong (Hong Kong), Gilles Leblanc (Canada), Victoria L. Obedkoff (Canada) and Michael Bausch (USA).

The Ecumenical Prize aims at promoting movies that distinguish themselves not only by their artistic merit, but also by their exploration of the ethical, social and spiritual values that make life human.

The Jury in Montreal is coordinated by Interfilm-Montreal and by Communications et Société (www.officecom.qc.ca), the member association of SIGNIS for French-speaking Canada.

For more information on the Ecumenical Jury in Montreal, with the list of all the winners since 1979, visit ww.officecom.qc.ca/jury.html