Irish horror film Isolation has been announced as the winner of the Silver Méliès (Méliès d'Argent)at the Leeds International Film Festival.
Billy O'Brien's debut feature film about chilling goings on at a rural farm has won the award will now go forward as a nominee to win the Gold Méliès award.
The Méliès awards - given to "the best European fantastical films" are a unique competition as they are the only gongs given organised by collaborating festivals.
Silver Méliès winners from across 10 European Festivals form the pool from which an overall Golden Méliès winner will be selected. With this year's line-up already including German film Grimm Love - about a student's obssession with a cannibal killer; Italian creature feature Hell's Fever; Danish love story with a magical twist A Quiet Love (Die Blaue Grenze); and animated feature Princess - about a missionary determined to wipe out references to his dead sister's pornographic past.
Silver and Gold Méliès are also awarded to short film. Leeds winner is director Ed Boase's Home Video. It will now go forward to compete for Gold. Other short nominees so far are: Irish-made The Faeries of Blackheath Woods; Swedish film about a woman mixed with a plant, Mebana; and English offerings Plastic and Doodle.
The overall winners will pick up their prize in September 2007. For more information about the Méliès visit the official site.
