Belgian filmmakers take home Canadian film prize with Black

Black was selected as the winner of the $5,000 Dropbox Discovery Award yesterday at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The new film by Belgian directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah is scheduled for release in Belgium on 11 November. It was inspired by the books Black and Back by Flemish youth author Dirk Bracke.

El Arbi (pictured), who was present to receive the award, called it "a dream come true”. The film was chosen as the winner out of a total of 30 films under the category Discovery.

The jury praised Black for its “clear cinematic vision, creatively and audaciously realised. Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have made a powerful impression upon cinema, with their arresting visual and sonic sensibility placing the loyalties and threats of gang life into sharp relief,” according to the jury. “A discovery indeed."