Strasbourg, 13.11.2019 –The 20th edition of this event which opened on the 3 October 2019 comes to a close today with the awarding of honorary prizes to three Eurimages-supported international co-productions:
The Odyssée-Council of Europe Prize for Human Rights
goes to God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya by Teona Strugar Mitevska, a
co-production between North Macedonia, Slovenia, Belgium, Croatia and France, for the director's ability to stage a story with a universal reach. The central figure of this film is a female character who has the will and courage to stand up to the misogyny prevalent in a society weighed down by religious, institutional and media conformity.
The director skillfully integrates a large number of key topics related to the struggle for human rights into a relatively simple plot: in addition to the central theme of gender equality, which is directly linked to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the film shows the background of doubts and unease when questions of the rights to privacy, to work, to a fair trial and of press freedom are raised. Teona Strugar Mitevska shows how all these struggles are intrinsically linked and how progress on human rights cannot be compartmentalized into different issues but must advance on all fronts simultaneously.
The Odyssée-Council of Europe Prize for Artistic Creation goes to
Cold War by Pawel Pawlikowski, a co-production between Poland, France and the United Kingdom
for its great artistic and aesthetic quality, the remarkable direction of the actors, and its ability to create an attractive universe representing a loving relationship attuned to the torments of history, a relationship whose relevance remains pertinent today.
Lastly, a Special Mention is awarded to the film Tel Aviv on Fire by Sameh Zoabi, a co-production between Luxembourg, France, Israel and Belgium,
for its cinematographic qualities and its ability to speak tactfully and non-judgmentally about a complex, painful and troubling situation. This film focuses on what is likely to bring the protagonists closer to a dramatic situation rather than away from one.
EURIMAGES is a support fund for cinema co-production, theatrical distribution and exhibition established by the Council of Europe in 1988 (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. –http://www.coe.int/Eurimages).
Since it was set up in 1988, EURIMAGES has supported 2 047 co-productions for a total amount of approximately 597 million euros.
