The latter was awarded ex-aequo to actresses Sara Giraudeau and Judith Chemla, according to the prize list unveiled on Sunday at the start of the evening.

The film, an adaptation by Léopold Legrand and Catherine Paillé of the novel "Crying rivers" by Alain Jaspard, also won the Valois prize for music (Louis Sclavis) and the Valois for the public.

It hits theaters on September 28.

Among the 10 films in competition - including seven by female directors -, "Le Bleu du Caftan" by Moroccan Maryam Touzani, is the other winner of the festival, very marked this year by societal issues.

This aesthetically controlled film won the Valois for directing and for actor, awarded to Saleh Bakri.

The actor embodies the character of Halim who, with his wife Mina (Lubna Azabal), has always lived with the secret of his homosexuality, until the arrival of an apprentice in their traditional kaftan shop upsets this balance .

First feature film by Quebecer Geneviève Albert, "Noémie dit oui", on the phenomenon of teenage prostitution in Canada, received the Valois from French-speaking students, with a special mention for actress Kelly Depeault.

The Valois "René Laloux" (best animated short film), was awarded to "Tears of the Seine", directed by eight students from the Ecole Pôle 3D on the massacre of Algerian demonstrators on the night of October 17, 1961.

As for the Valois de Diamant, it was awarded to "Les Pires" by Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret, a film which has already won the "Un certain regard" prize at Cannes this year.

The story takes place in a popular city in Boulogne-sur-Mer where teenagers, far from the usual criteria of cinema, are chosen during a casting.

The public came en masse to the Angoulême festival, with 52,000 people in the halls according to official figures, or 15,000 more people compared to 2021.

© 2022 AFP