This year’s CineRail Grand Prix was won by the short Portuguese fiction film, “A Carruagem” (the Carriage) set on the Lisbon metro. “Routes into Rail: What I Have Always Wanted” commissioned by RSSB, received the CineRail Golden Company Communications Award, while the Jury gave a special mention to “9 Vies” (nine lives) commissioned by SNCF Logistics, Freight Division.
The 21st CineRail, International Festival for Trains on Film, was held successfully in Paris from 16 to 18 December. Three juries selected the 60 short films to be presented in Paris and take part in the Festival, from a total of 400 entries.
The awards and closing ceremony took place on 18 December at the International Union of Railways Headquarters in Paris, before an audience of about 150 guests. Those attending the ceremony included professionals and members of the juries, and were welcomed to the venue by UIC’s Director General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux.
The Grand Prix CineRail of the event, which is the top award of the festival, was given for the Portuguese film “A Carruagem” (the Carriage). The film was directed by Joao Vasco and produced by AvA Musical Editions. A Carruagem is a black-and-white short film set in Lisbon’s metro and won the unanimous approval of the jury as the best production for this year’s festival.
“Routes into Rail: What I Have Always Wanted” commissioned by RSSB, received the CineRail Golden Company Communications Award. It was directed by Robert Pendlebury and produced by Picturascope.
The purpose of the short film is to draw more young talented professionals to the railways. It presents various railway related professions in all their diversity, highlighting their strong points, at a time when the sector still suffers from a lacklustre image.
A Jury Special Mention for Corporate Films was given to “9 Vies” (nine lives), directed by Michel Kharoubi and commissioned by SNCF Logistics, Freight Division, which is about the importance of heeding safety rules in rail freight operations.
Other CineRail awards were presented to productions from China (Georges Ragot Prize “Make People Love Trains”), the Netherlands (Golden CineRail for Fiction), Ukraine (Goleden CineRail for Documentary), France/Belgium (Jury Special Mention), Romania (EICAR Student Prize), and France (Audience Award).
CineRail is the only International Festival in the world exclusively devoted to Trains and Cinema. The Festival was launched in 1991, with this year marking its twenty-first edition. CineRail has become a fixture for the railways and railway related film. The event also offers a unique opportunity to meet for all those working in communications in the railway transport sector, including producers, directors, TV and media experts, communications specialists, railway companies and public transport operators.
This year’s CineRail received the support of UIC, Trains-Expo SNCF, UITP, RATP and ONCF (Moroccan Railways), and other partners from business, universities and the media.
As UIC’s Director General, Jean-Pierre Loubinoux emphasised during the opening of the award ceremony, “…artistic creativity is increasingly needed, since it is the strongest bulwark against obscurantism….Cinema is the art of marrying time and space, and as Apollinaire I think said, it is something we need more and more, since it demonstrates life in movement. An urgency we feel even more keenly when to this fourth dimension is added a fifth – that of love, that of care...”
“… And I think that this is what sums up CinéRail, its survival and development have been possible thanks to the tender care and attention it has and continues to receive from its founders and organisers. The UIC and I, therefore, are very happy and proud to be able to be a small part of this event.”
The awards were presented to the winners in the six categories. The Golden CineRail for Corporate Film was awarded to the film "Routes into Rail: What I Have Always Wanted”, commissioned by RSSB.
