The award for Best Screenplay was split ex-aequo between Radu Jude for I do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians and Natalya Merkulova and Aleskei Chupov for The Man Who Surprised Everyone. The award for Best Cinematography was also ex-aequo, going to Bulgaria’s Kaloyan Bozhilov for Aga and Lukasz Zal for Cold War. The Prize for Lifetime Contribution to Cinema went to Georgian-born Russian director Marlen Khutsiev, who passed away earlier this year.

The awards ceremony took place at the Et Cetera Theatre in Moscow on 14 April and was a star studded event that included global opera stars with many of Russia’s top actors and producers including Alexander Rodnyansky on stage.  

The jury was made up of leading experts on cinema in Asia and Eastern Europe including Film New Europe’s Editor-in-chief Anna Franklin, who was one of the original St Petersburg FIPRESCI group attending the seminar two years ago that resulted in the establishing of the new award.

Earlier in the day Russian critic and award founder Andrei Plakhov hosted a seminar on film from the region. Film New Europe chief editor Anna Franklin was one of the speakers representing the FNE Daily newswire, which plays an important role in promoting film across the region and building cultural bridges with neighbouring countries.

East West Golden Arch Winners 2019:

Best Fiction Feature Film:
Cold War (Poland, UK, France)
Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski
Produced by Apocalypso Pictures, Opus Film, MK Productions
Supported by Polish Film Institute

Best Director:
Pawlikowski for Cold War (Poland, UK, France)

Best Screenplay:
Ex-aequo
Radu Jude for I do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians (Romania)
Directed by Radu Jude
Produced by Hi Film Productions (Romania)
Coproduced by Endorfilm (Czech Republic), Les Films d’Ici (France), Klas Film (Bulgaria), Komplizen Film (Germany)
Supported by SEE Network, the Romanian Film Centre, Aide aux Cinémas du Monde, the Czech State Cinematography Fund, the Bulgarian National Film Center and Eurimages
And
Natalya Merkulova and Aleskei Chupov for The Man Who Surprised Everyone (Russia, Estonia, France)
Directed by Natalya Merkulova and Aleskei Chupov
Produced by Pan Atlantic Studio, Arizona Productions, Homeless Bob Production, Non-Stop Production

Best Cinematography:
Ex-aequo
Kaloyan Bozhilov for Aga (Bulgaria, Germany, France)
Directed by Milko Lazarov
Produced by Red Carpet
Coproduced by 42Film, Arizona Films Productions, the Bulgarian National Television and ZDF/Arte
Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center, French CNC and German MDM
Winner of the 10. Krzysztof Kieślowski ScripTeast Award for Best East European Script
and
Lukasz Zal for Cold War (Poland, France, Germany)
Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski
 
Best Actor:
Evgeny Tsyganov for his role in The Man Who Surprised Everyone (Russia, Estonia, France)
Directed by Natalya Merkulova and Alexei Chupov

Best Actress:
Joanna Kulig for her role in Cold War (Poland, UK, France)
Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski

Best Supporting Actor:
Murat Cemcir for his role in Wild Pear Tree (Turkey, France, Germany, Bulgaria, Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia)
Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Coproduced by Zeyno Film (Turkey), Detail (Germany), RFF International (Bulgaria), 2006 D.O.O. (BiH)  Sisters & Brother Mitevski (North Macedonia), The Chimney Pot (Sweden) Qatar
Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Centre, the North Macedonia Film Agency and the Sarajevo Film Fund, as well as Eurimages. Produced in partnership with Nu Boyana Film Studios

Best Supporting Actress:
Natalya Kudryashova for her role in The Man Who Surprised Everyone (Russia, Estonia, France)
Directed by Natalya Merkulova and Alexei Chupov

Best Music:
Roman Bilyk and German Osipov for Summer (Russia)
Directed by Kirill Serebrennikov

Best Production Design:
Elena Okopnaya for Dovlatov (Russia, Poland, Serbia)
Directed by Alexei German Jr
Produced by SAGa films, Metrafilms and First Channel
Coproduced by Message film, Art&Popcorn
Supported by Eurimages, Film Center Serbia, the Polish Film Institute

Prize for Lifetime Contribution to Cinema
Marlen Khutsiev