19/11/2013 - The Cineuropa Prize went to Ramon Zürcher’s The Strange Little Cat

The 2013 edition of the Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival – the first to open its competition section to non-European films – came to an end last night with a ceremony at Lisbon’s CCB. Fish & Cat by Iranian director Shahram Mokri won the top prize. The movie, filmed in one single shot of 135minutes conquered the jury composed by plastic artists Dominique González-Foerster and Vhils, musicians Arto Lindsay and Diego Masson, and director/scriptwriter Carlos Saboga.

The jury’s special award was given ex-æquo to Harmony Lessons [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Emir Baigazin and La última película by Raya Martin and Mark Peranson.

The Cineuropa Prize went to The Strange Little Cat [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ramon Zürcher
film profile], by Swiss-born Germany-based director Ramon Zürcher, a film described by Cineuropa’s jury member Cristina Soldano as a sort of anthropological reflection. “Through perfect shots enhanced by the colour and light of the main characters' breath - members of a multigenerational middle-class Berlin family - the film denounces the desire to live individually and in one another's communal spaces. A space which becomes increasingly smaller but remains undivided and where the physical and cosmic universe becomes a character in itself.”

Hugo Pedro’s Primária was chosen as the best of the 24 short films directed by film students from all over Europe, which were also competing in the festival. It is the second recognition of Primária – recently awarded at Córtex  - Sintra’s short film festival.