Statement of the jury:
“Matthew’s Laws” is a very special film. Not because of its topic, as it is not the only film about autism. It is unique, because it captivates the viewer entirely.
Marc Schmidt, a filmmaker from the Netherlands, accompanies his childhood friend Matthew with his camera, and so we get to know the living and thinking of an autistic person. Matthew’s world has its own laws. We follow him fighting his environment, and feel with him when he loses his fight. The viewer experiences a complex world of laws. In one scene, Matthew says he would rather die with the truth, than living with a lie. With this rigor, the film captures an old argument of documentary film.
Marc Schmidt’s camera follows Matthew closely. This creates a strong feeling of intimacy in the viewer, who is deeply drawn into the story. The film focuses entirely on Matthew – there is nothing that distracts from this one person, and therefore from the topic of autism. And not one of the 72 minutes is wasted hereby. Dramaturgically advanced and extremely captivating, “Matthew’s Laws” became a very emotional and dense film.
The jury has unanimously agreed upon what is so unique about this film: it spoke to all of us, from the youngest jury member of sixteen years to the ones in their forties. And if a documentary succeeds in convincing also a young audience – which is usually a very critical one – it has to be a very special film.
There is no honorary mention this year.
