ZAGREB: Alen Drljević’s coproduction between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany Men Don’t Cry continued its festival success story, winning the Best Film award at the 15th Zagreb FF, which concluded on 19 November 2017.
BYDGOSZCZ: Body and Soul by Ildikó Enyedi with DoP Máté Herbai won the Main Competition of the 25th Camerimage film festival at the closing ceremony on 18 November 2017.
MALATYA: More / Daha directed by Onur Saylak won the Best Film Award in the National Competition of the 7th edition of the Malatya IFF at the closing ceremony on 16 November 2017. The Best Film Award of the International Competition was given to the Azerbaijan film Pomegranate Orchard by Ilgar Najaf.
ZAGREB: The deadline for applications for the RE-ACT co-development fund has been extended to 22 November 2017.
Films by Czech director Helena Trestikova and Romanian director Alexandru Solomon have been picked up by Hungary's Verzio IDFF.
BRATISLAVA: Men Don’t Cry directed by Alen Drljević took the main prize of the 19th Bratislava IFF, which concluded on 16 November 2017.
FICTION COMPETITION
FICTION COMPETITION JURY
Jean-Marc Barr, USA
Katarína Krnáčová, Slovakia
Bojan Vuletić, Serbia
Prize for the Best Fiction Film
Men Don´t Cry / Muškarci ne plaču
(directed by Alen Drljević, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, 2017)
The theme of this year’s edition of the Bratislava International Film Festival was the art of film acting. The jury was unanimous in its choice for Best Film with a film where the ensemble of actors displayed such an intense emotional and inspirational level of acting in dealing with a tragic historical event. We also found it important to emphasize that the film’s main message of reconciliation was so necessary in today’s current political climate.
Prize for the Best Director
Soleen Yusef for House without Roof / Haus ohne Dach
(Germany, Irak, Qatar, 2016)
Best Director goes to a new talent, a woman, who had the courage to explore with a sincere sensitivity the men in a very patriarchal society, who also chose to film in a dangerous part of the world, in a nation that has yet to be created, Kurdistan, and who displayed a masterful quality of directing considering that this was her film school graduation debut.
Prize for the Best Actress
Laetitia Dosch for Montparnasse Bienvenüe / Jeune Femme
(directed by Léonor Serraille, France, Belgium, 2017)
This actress carried the whole film, from start to finish, with such an honest, authentic and rich performance as she portrayed a woman who in weakness eventually found a strength that inspired all of us in the jury.
Prize for the Best Actor
Navid Mohammadzadeh for No Date, No Signature / Bedoune Tarikh, Bedoune Emza
(directed by Vahid Jalilvand, Iran, 2017)
Best Actor goes to a gentleman who displayed such an outstanding range of emotions, who was honest and convincing at every moment of his character’s evolution in dealing with a man who is condemned to tragedy.
FIPRESCI JURY
Martin Černický, Slovakia
Aksel Kielland, Norway
Evgeny Mayzel, Russia
FIPRESCI Jury Award
No Date, No Signature / Bedoune Tarikh, Bedoune Emza
(directed by Vahid Jalilvand, Iran, 2017)
A convincing example of Iranian cinema dedicated to the ethical labyrinths of modern life.
STUDENT JURY
Michaela Kostková, Barbora Nemčeková and Veronika Suchá from Slovakia
Student Jury Award
Montparnasse Bienvenüe / Jeune Femme
(directed by Léonor Serraille, France, Belgium, 2017)
An authentic and creatively rendered look at the viability of a modern young woman. A convincingly mastered range of her frame of mind during her struggle with herself and the world, performed by Laetitia Dosch.
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION JURY
Vincet Dieutre, France Petra Seliškar, Slovenia Ondrej Starinský, Slovakia
Prize for the Best Documentary Film Meteors / Meteorlar
(directed by Gürcan Keltek, Netherland, Turkey, 2017)
For his strong, sharp, poetic and humanist risk taken. For the intense fragility of his cinematographic choices
SHORTS COMPETITION
SHORT COMPETITION JURY
András Cséfalvay, Slovakia Diana Dąbrowska, Poland Alexei Dmitriev, Russia
Prize for the Best Short Film Islands / Les Iles
(directed by Yann Gonzalez, France, 2017)
For inviting the audience to an aesthetic orgy where weirdness meets acceptance.
Special Mention in Shorts Competition Amateurs / Amateurs
(directed by Naveen Padmanabha, India, 2016)
A funny space serenade that makes us feel connected in this disconnected world.
Awards of the 19th Bratislava IFF 2017
The Bratislava IFF Award for Artistic Excellence in World Cinema was bestowed upon one of the most distinctive European actors and a unique director Jean-Marc Barr.
The commemorative tile on the Film Walk of Fame for 2017 was dedicated to acclaimed Slovak actress Božidara Turzonovová for his lifelong contribution to Slovak cinema.
BERLIN: Katarzyna Lewinska was among the first seven winners announced for the European Film Awards.
The MIT Press publishes a journal called “Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments”. Its Volume 19, Issue 4 of August 2010 featured a pioneering, scientific article by Nonny de la Peña and her 7 co-authors entitled “Immersive Journalism: Immersive Virtual Reality for the First-Person Experience of News”. Nicknamed “The Godmother of Virtual Reality” by Engadget, Forbes, and The Guardian, she is recognized as having created the genre of immersive journalism. The paper’s abstract beautifully exposes its potential, e.g. by saying “The sense of presence… affords the participants access to the sights and sounds, and possibly feelings and emotions, that accompany the news.”
More recently, in 2017, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, UK, published a report entitled “VR for News: The New Reality?”, written by Zillah Watson, who worked at BBC Research and Development, where she led the editorial development of VR experimentation for several years. This comprehensive report is undoubtedly the most complete account of the state of immersive journalism at the time of this writing.
On Wed 13 Dec pm, Stereopsia’s Professional Conference (PCON) will lead you through the world of immersive journalism of today through short stand-alone presentations followed by a discussion panel involving 6 experts: Dominik Baumann (BLICK, Ringier AG, Switzerland), Martin Heller (WELT, Germany), Martin Jönsson (Dagens Nyheter, Sweden), Kay Meseberg (ARTE, France), Sebastian Pfotenhauer (BLICK, Ringier AG, Switzerland), Thomas Seymat (Euronews, France). As for all other PCON speakers, you’ll find their photos and biographies on the PCON webpage.
During our combing of the world to build this session, we were amazed by the enthusiasm of all those we contacted for our initiative to cover “immersive journalism” in the new “World Immersion Forum” taking place in Brussels, which has one of the largest press corps in the world.
Winning Films from Festivals in Venice, Cannes, Toronto and San Sebastian Among Most Anticipated Slovak Premieres in Bratislava IFF’s Programme
Festivals 08-11-2017
The Cinema Now section of the 19th Bratislava International Film Festival will present some of the most notable films of this year's festival season. The retro fantasy The Shape of Water (2017) and the black comedy Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) won the prestigious festival in Venice and rightly so, are among this year's most anticipated films and hottest Oscar nominations. For a change, the family drama April's Daughter (Las hijas de Abril, 2017) by the acclaimed Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco shone at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section and met with an enthusiastic response from the critics. This trio of hot film accessions finalised the programme of the 19. Bratislava International Festival, brimming with attractive Slovak premieres.
The Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is regarded as one of the most original directors in the contemporary Hollywood. His most acclaimed works include the magic realism fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno, 2006) and two lavish treatments of the comic book phenomenon Hellboy. His latest film The Shape of Water (2017) was crowned with the Golden Lion for Best Film, the top prize of the Venice Film Festival, and is one of the hottest candidates for the Academy Awards. Once again, Del Toro is balancing on genre borders bringing a sci-fi set in the past, specifically in the paranoid historical period of the Cold War. At the same time, he pays tribute to the 50s and 60s American monster film, particularly referring to the famous Creature from the Black Lagoon. The Shape of Water is a mixture of political thriller, horror and melodrama. Thanks to del Toro’s unique imagination, the universal story of David's battle with Goliath and the forbidden love between the Beauty and the Beast, this genre mix comes across as consistent. The result is a unique emotional experience that will intrigue light as well as demanding viewers.
The story of the film is set in 1963, in the midst of the Cold War. The main character, a maid called Elisa, works in a secret government laboratory, where authorities are holding captive their secret classified experiment - a fish-man of unknown origin. Using sign language, Elise manages to make contact with him. Gradually the two fall in love, which drives Elise to pursue her dangerous plan of setting him free. The main roles will sparkle with such big names as Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon and Octavia Spencer.
Another Venetian premiere with no less of a successful festival career is the black comedy Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), written by the Oscar-winning screenwriter, director and distinguished playwright Martin McDonagh. The film was awarded Best Screenplay prize in Venice and received audience awards at festivals in Toronto and San Sebastian. Martin McDonagh is particularly famous for his black humour, grotesque depictions of violence, brilliant antihero characters and pop- culture references. His first feature film In Bruges (2008) won The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In the movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri the director joined forces with such flm stars as Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell.
The main heroine, Mildred Hayes, is a mother whose daughter was murdered a few months ago. As waiting for the murderer’s capture proves fruitless, she decides to decorate the city entrance with three billboards, bearing uncompromising messages for the local venerable sheriff William Willoughby. When an immature and violent police officer Dixon gets involved in the conflict, the war can begin.
Another festival laurel-crowned film is Michel Franco’s April's Daughter (Las hijas de Abril, 2017). The film received the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes and its world premiere met with fantastic response from the critics. Michel Franco has long been a favourite of this most important world film festival. In the year 2015, he received the Best Screenplay Award for the drama Chronic and in 2012 he won the Un Certain Regard competition with the film After Lucia (Después de Lucía, 2012). The family drama April's Daughter tells the story of a young pregnant Valerie, living with her half-sister Clara. She’s expecting the child with her somewhat older boyfriend, but financial problems compel her to ask her mother April for help. Their family situation is far from ideal and April becomes convinced that Valeria is just not fit to be a mother. Therefore, she opts for a drastic solution. Once again, Michel Franco has shot a powerful psychological drama about tense relationships and characters that all of a sudden find themselves hard up and helpless. The main role of April is played by the fantastic Spanish actress Emma Suárez, whose talent could also be witnessed in Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film Julieta (2016).
The 19th edition of the Bratislava International Film Festival will take place in the pleasant atmosphere of several city cinemas - Kino Lumière, Kino Mladosť, Kino Nostalgia and Gorila.sk Urban Space café, which will host selected film screenings as well as various accompanying events of the festival. The popular Bratislava club Fuga – Space for the missing culture will hosts several great concerts and music parties. For the first time, the festival programme will step out of the capital and selected films will appear in the cinemas Kino MIER in Modra, Kino Mier in Senec and Kino Záhoran in Malacky.
For the latest updates on the programme of the 19th Bratislava International Film Festival, please visit our official website at www.bratislavaiff.sk or our official Facebook account at www.facebook.com/bratislavaiff.
19th BRATISLAVA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
November 9 – 16, 2017
Kino Lumière, Kino Mladosť, Kino Nostalgia, Gorila.sk Urban Space Kino Mier Senec, Kino Záhoran Malacky, Kino MIER Modra
Main Organiser: Partners Production
The International Film Festival is held under the auspices of Marek Maďarič, Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic
The Festival is held with the generous financial support of Slovak Audiovisual Fund.
Main Partners: Slovenská elektrizačná prenosová sústava, KiK textil a Non-Food, Transpetrol, innogy Slovensko
