03/04/2015 - Slovak director Ivan Ostrochovský honoured twice at Lithuania's biggest film festival

Ivan Ostrochovský, in a video at the festival's closing ceremony

Koza [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan Ostrochovský
film profile], a Slovak-Czech co-production by Slovakian director Ivan Ostrochovský, has started bringing home its first awards. Ostrochovský's feature debut was named the most promising project last year at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, winning the Works in Progress Award and also being nominated for the Best First Feature Award at its world premiere in the Forum section of the Berlinale Festival. Koza clinched the Best Film Award in the New Europe - New Names competition section of the 20^th Vilnius International Film Festival “Kino Pavasaris” (19 March - 2 April), the largest film festival in Lithuania, aimed at new directors from Central and Eastern Europe. This year's competition included strong rivals such as the fascinating Estonian black-and-white opus In the Crosswind [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martti Helde
interview: Martti Helde
film profile], with several awards already under its belt, celebrated Serbian-Croatian drama No One's Child [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] or Ukrainian award-winning The Tribe [+see also:
trailer
film profile] that also claimed Best Director in Vilnius.

On top of this, the CICAE International Jury granted Ostrochovský's film the CICAE Art Cinema Award “for successfully showing a tragic story with a sense of humour and a balance between fiction and tough reality. It will be a pleasure to share this unusual road movie with all arthouse exhibitors all over the world.” The Best Actor was named as Márton Kristóf for his performance as neurotic Mózes in Virág Zomborácz's directorial debut, Afterlife [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Virág Zomborácz
film profile], while Margita Gosheva, as a teacher caught in a downward spiral of debt in Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov's social drama The Lesson [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Val…
interview: Margita Gosheva
film profile], left the ceremony with the Best Actress Award in her hand.

In another competition section that “Baltic Gaze” launched last year to present films from the Baltic region, Sebastian Schipper's one-shot heist thriller Victoria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sebastian Schipper
film profile] came out on top and Joshua Oppenheimer was named the Best Director for The Look of Silence [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. Janusz Gajos took the Best Actor Award as a coroner in Malgorzata Szumowska's latest endeavour, Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Malgorzata Szumowska
interview: Malgorzata Szumowska
film profile], and Bianca Kronlöf added the Best Actress Award to the one she received at Les Arcs European Film Festival for her performance in Ronnie Sandahl's drama Underdog [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ronnie Sandahl
film profile]. A Special Mention went to Signe Baumane's animated confession Rocks in My Pockets [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Signe Baumane
film profile], while the visiting audience opted for Xavier Dolan's Mommy in the Audience Award poll.