Michael Omonua’s ‘Rehearsal’ wins Grand Prize at Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur

The highly coveted award which comes with a cash prize of 12000 Swiss Franc was recently confirmed in a statement shared on the short film festival’s official Instagram page.

“Rehearsal (Nigeria 2021) by Michael Omonua (@mikegouken) won the Grand Prize of the International Competition: CHF 12 000.–, donated by SRG SSR. Congratulations. The winner of the Grand Prize takes us to a place of ambiguity, where we can never be certain of what we see. Masterfully blurring the boundaries between fiction and reality, it is a critical – and at times humorous – reflection on religious rites as well as on the act of storytelling itself,” the statement read.

Reacting to the new feat, director Michael Omonua shared: “It was an amazing festival experience. An unbelievable honour for the whole Rehearsal team to win the Grand Prize for the International Competition. Attended some brilliant workshops and watched lots of incredible films and made some great friends.”

Starring Ruby Akubueze, Brutus Richard, Chimezie Imo and Amanda Oruh, the 15-minute short film follows actors rehearsing for a play about a church group rehearsing miracles. It explores the boundaries between church and theatre, faith and credibility.

Regarded as the largest short film festival in Switzerland, the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur provides insight into current short filmmaking and enable encounters with filmmakers from around the world.