A tale of forbidden love in a remote village in Africa has won the top prize at the Melbourne International Film Festival, worth $140,000.

Banel & Adama, a Franco-Senegalese co-production, was judged best film by a jury of international judges, with its writer-director Ramata-Toulaye Sy awarded the Bright Horizons prize, for a first- or second-time director.

Director Ramata-Toulaye Sy, whose film Banel & Adama won Australia’s richest film prize. Credit: Scott Garfitt/Invision

“It means a lot for African movies to be recognised around the world [and also here] in Melbourne, and this award really recognises the new African generation of filmmakers,” Sy said.

A lyrical tale of custom, culture, and climate, the film, made in Pulaar (one of a dozen languages spoken in Senegal) with a cast of non-professionals, Banel & Adama was chosen from a field of 11 films.