The Archaeology Channel International Film Festival which took place May 11-15, featuring many of the world’s best films on archaeology and cultural heritage announced the award winners with the top jury award (Best Film by Jury) going to Songs of the Water Spirits directed by Nicolò Bongiorno. Songs of the Water Spirits highlights the struggle in the Ladakh region of northern India to preserve traditional cultural identity and a pristine environment without withdrawing into a shell, giving value to the incentives of a modernity that does not imply a cultural mutation. This film shows how brave and visionary minds are working to overcome this conflict by proposing a virtuous mediation.

The Festival audience picked The Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry directed by Alexis De Favitski as its favorite film. This film tells how archaeologists have come together in search of sculpted funerary portraits from Palmyra that have been disseminated around the world to recount the story of the ancient city in a way that has never been done before: through the faces of the city’s inhabitants.

The following is a complete list of TAC Festival 2021 awards:

Best Film (by Jury):
Songs of the Water Spirits (Produced and directed by Nicolò Bongiorno; distributed by Filigranowa; Italy)

Honorable Mention for Best Film Category (in order):
The Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry (Produced by Antoine Bamas; directed by Alexis De Favitski; distributed by Louis Bernard – Taxi Rights; France)
William Waldren: The Alchemist’s Footprint (Produced by Núria Cano; directed by Joan Bonet; distributed by La Perifèrica Produccions; Spain)
Parizad (Produced, directed and distributed by Mehdi Imani Shahmiri; Iran)
The Oath of Cyriac (Produced by Olivier Bourgeois, Franck Meyer and Houmam Saad; directed by Olivier Bourgeois; distributed by La Caixa de la Llum Produccions; Andorra)

Best Narration (by Jury):
The Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry (Produced by Antoine Bamas, directed by Alexis De Favitski; distributed by Louis Bernard – Taxi Rights; France)

Honorable Mention for Narration (in order):
Parizad (Produced, directed and distributed by Mehdi Imani Shahmiri; Iran)
William Waldren: The Alchemist’s Footprint (Produced by Núria Cano; directed by Joan Bonet; distributed by La Perifèrica Produccions; Spain)
Songs of the Water Spirits (Produced and directed by Nicolò Bongiorno; distributed by Filigranowa; Italy)
Who Wrote the Bible? Revelations about one of the Greatest Mysteries in History (Produced by Tournez S’il Vous Plaît, directed by Nathalie Laville; distributed by Grand Angle Distribution; France)

Best Animation and Effects (by Jury):
The Pillar of Strength (Produced by Ayie Ibrahim and Suriya Samsudin; directed by Ayie Ibrahim; Malaysia)

Honorable Mention for Animation and Effects (in order):
The Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry (Produced by Antoine Bamas, directed by Alexis De Favitski; distributed by Louis Bernard – Taxi Rights; France)
Roman Engineering: Roads, The Neural Network of the Empire (Produced by José Antonio Muñiz and José Antonio Sánchez De León; directed by José Antonio Muñiz; distributed by Charo Penedo – Surreal TV; Spain)

Best Public Education Value (by Jury):
Songs of the Water Spirits (Produced and directed by Nicolò Bongiorno; distributed by Filigranowa; Italy)

Honorable Mention for Public Education Value (in order):
The Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry (Produced by Antoine Bamas, directed by Alexis De Favitski; distributed by Louis Bernard – Taxi Rights; France)
The Oath of Cyriac (Produced by Olivier Bourgeois, Franck Meyer and Houmam Saad; directed by Olivier Bourgeois; distributed by La Caixa de la Llum Produccions; Andorra)
William Waldren: The Alchemist’s Footprint (Produced by Núria Cano; directed by Joan Bonet; distributed by La Perifèrica Produccions; Spain)
Who Wrote the Bible? Revelations about one of the Greatest Mysteries in History (Produced by Tournez S’il Vous Plaît, directed by Nathalie Laville; distributed by Grand Angle Distribution; France)

Best Script (by Jury):
The Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry (Produced by Antoine Bamas, directed by Alexis De Favitski; distributed by Louis Bernard – Taxi Rights; France)

Honorable Mention for Script (in order):
William Waldren: The Alchemist’s Footprint (Produced by Núria Cano; directed by Joan Bonet; distributed by La Perifèrica Produccions; Spain)
Who Wrote the Bible? Revelations about one of the Greatest Mysteries in History (Produced by Tournez S’il Vous Plaît, directed by Nathalie Laville; distributed by Grand Angle Distribution; France)
The Oath of Cyriac (Produced by Olivier Bourgeois, Franck Meyer and Houmam Saad; directed by Olivier Bourgeois; distributed by La Caixa de la Llum Produccions; Andorra)
Caesar’s Doomsday War (Produced by Samuel Kissous and Fabrice Frank; directed by Claire Benhaim, Alain Brunard, Bertrand Goujard, Christopher Holt, Eric Maillebiau, Vanessa Pontet, and Gywn Williams; distributed by ITV; France)

Best Cinematography (by Jury):
Parizad (Produced, directed and distributed by Mehdi Imani Shahmiri; Iran)

Honorable Mention for Cinematography (in order):
The Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry (Produced by Antoine Bamas, directed by Alexis De Favitski; distributed by Louis Bernard – Taxi Rights; France)
Songs of the Water Spirits (Produced and directed by Nicolò Bongiorno; distributed by Filigranowa; Italy)
Who Wrote the Bible? Revelations about one of the Greatest Mysteries in History (Produced by Tournez S’il Vous Plaît, directed by Nathalie Laville; distributed by Grand Angle Distribution; France)
The Trace of Time (Produced by Maria Gentekou, Dionysia Kopana and Greek Film Centre; directed by Dionysia Kopana; distributed by Maria Gentekou; Greece)

Best Music (by Jury):
Songs of the Water Spirits (Produced and directed by Nicolò Bongiorno; distributed by Filigranowa; Italy)

Honorable Mention for Music (in order):
The Trace of Time (Produced by Maria Gentekou, Dionysia Kopana and Greek Film Centre; directed by Dionysia Kopana; distributed by Maria Gentekou; Greece)
Parizad (Produced, directed and distributed by Mehdi Imani Shahmiri; Iran)
The Oath of Cyriac (Produced by Olivier Bourgeois, Franck Meyer and Houmam Saad; directed by Olivier Bourgeois; distributed by La Caixa de la Llum Produccions; Andorra)
The Pillar of Strength (Produced by Ayie Ibrahim and Suriya Samsudin; directed by Ayie Ibrahim; Malaysia)

Most Inspirational (by Jury):
William Waldren: The Alchemist’s Footprint (Produced by Núria Cano; directed by Joan Bonet; distributed by La Perifèrica Produccions; Spain)

Honorable Mention for Inspiration (in order):
Songs of the Water Spirits (Produced and directed by Nicolò Bongiorno; distributed by Filigranowa; Italy)The Oath of Cyriac (Produced by Olivier Bourgeois, Franck Meyer and Houmam Saad; directed by Olivier Bourgeois; distributed by La Caixa de la Llum Produccions; Andorra)
The Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry (Produced by Antoine Bamas, directed by Alexis De Favitski; distributed by Louis Bernard – Taxi Rights; France)
The Trace of Time (Produced by Maria Gentekou, Dionysia Kopana and Greek Film Centre; directed by Dionysia Kopana; distributed by Maria Gentekou; Greece)

Special Mention (by Jury):
Who Wrote the Bible? Revelations about one of the Greatest Mysteries in History (Produced by Tournez S’il Vous Plaît, directed by Nathalie Laville; distributed by Grand Angle distribution; France);

Best film about cross-cultural faith insights
The Oath of Cyriac (Produced by Olivier Bourgeois, Franck Meyer and Houmam Saad; directed by Olivier Bourgeois; distributed by La Caixa de la Llum Produccions; Andorra);

Best film about wartime protection of cultural heritage
The Colosseum in Quarantine (Produced and directed by Davide Morabito and Luca Lancise; distributed by Davide Morabito; Italy);

Best film about the resilience of culture
The Trace of Time (Produced by Maria Gentekou, Dionysia Kopana and Greek Film Centre; directed by Dionysia Kopana; distributed by Maria Gentekou; Greece); Best film about the human history of archaeology

Audience Favorite (by Festival audience):
The Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry (Produced by Antoine Bamas, directed by Alexis De Favitski; distributed by Louis Bernard – Taxi Rights; France)

Honorable Mention for Audience Favorite (in order):
Raymond Lewis: L.A. Legend (Produced by Dean Prator and Ryan Polomski; directed by Ryan Polomski and Dean Prator; USA)
William Waldren: The Alchemist’s Footprint (Produced by Núria Cano; directed by Joan Bonet; distributed by La Perifèrica Produccions; Spain)
The 1001 Faces of Palmyra: The Lost Jewel of the Desert (Produced by Agnès Trintzius and Laure Bernard; directed by Meyar Al-Roumi; distributed by Un Film à la Patte; France)
Roman Engineering: Roads, The Neural Network of the Empire (Produced by José Antonio Muñiz and José Antonio Sánchez De León; directed by José Antonio Muñiz; distributed by Charo Penedo – Surreal TV; Spain)