17-11-2015

FNE at IFF Bratislava: Land and Shade Takes Top Awards

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    Land and Shade by Cesar Augusto Acevedo Land and Shade by Cesar Augusto Acevedo

    BRATISLAVA: The Colombian film Land and Shade directed by Cesar Augusto Acevedo won the Best Film and the FIPRESCI prizes at the 17th Bratislava IFF closing ceremony on 16 November 2015.

    The Best Documentary prize went to the French/Swiss/German film A German Youth directed by Jean-Gabriel Periot.

    The festival presented an award to beloved Slovak actress Emilia Vasaryova accompanied by a screening of her 1970 film The Copper Tower directed by Martin Holly and filmed against the stunning backdrop of the Slovak High Tatra mountains. It remains among the most popular of Slovak films.

    The scaled back festival was under the guidance of its new, young programme director, Pavel Smejkal, whose first experience with the festival was ten years ago when he attended it as a student. He reorganized the festival sections, grouping films under themes, with the overriding theme of “family” playing across competitive and non-competitive sections alike. The festival’s focus has become that of an event for local audiences, with a master class conducted by Slovak-American filmmaker Miso Suchy.

    The festival’s special sections included a focus on Greece with ten films ranging from shorts and animation to features including Cannes Jury Prize winner The Lobster, and the annual Made in Slovakia focus on domestic films.

    Complete list of awards:

    Best Film
    Land and Shade (Colombia)
    Directed by Cesar Augusto Acevedo

    Best Director
    Ida Panahanda
    Nahid (Iran)

    Best Actress (ex aequo)
    Niki Karima and Sahar Ahmadpour
    Wednesday, May 9 (Iran)

    Best Actor
    Navid Mohammad Zadeh
    Nahid

    FIPRESCI Award
    Land and Shade

    Student Jury Award
    Wednesday, May 9

    Best Documentary
    A German Youth (France, Switzerland, Germany)
    Directed by Jean-Gabriel Periot

    Special Mention
    Flotel Europa (Denmark, Serbia)
    Directed by Vladimir Tomic

    Best Short Film
    Washingtonia (Greece)
    Directed by Konstantina Kotzamani