02/05/2017 - The awards have been handed out in the First and Second Works, and International Panorama categories of the Bari International Film Festival, which ended on 29 April

Goran Paskaljević picks up his Best Director Award for Land of the Gods (© Bif&st)

The eighth edition of the Bif&st – Bari International Film Festival came to a close on Saturday 29 April with the handing out of the awards in the First and Second Works, and International Panorama categories. The audience jury, comprising 30 viewers and chaired by Klaus Eder (General Secretary of FIPRESCI), awarded Best Director in the First and Second Works category to Alessandro Aronadio for Ears [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alessandro Aronadio
film profile], while Sara Serraiocco was chosen as Best Actress for Worldly Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Marco Danieli
film profile] by Marco Danieli, and Luca Marinelli was singled out as Best Actor for Fabio Mollo’s There Is a Light [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabio Mollo
film profile]. 

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The International Panorama jury, again made up of 30 viewers, selected and supervised by actress Chiara Caselli, crowned Serbia’s Goran Paskaljević as Best Director for Land of the Gods [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Goran Paskaljević
film profile]. The acting awards in this category went to Iceland’s Hera Hilmar for the US title An Ordinary Man by Brad Silberling and to Argentina’s Leonardo Sbaraglia for his performance in The Lost Brother [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Israel Adrián Caetano. Meanwhile, a Special Mention was bestowed upon actor Andrea Carpenzano for Tutto quello che vuoi [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Francesco Bruni.

An extremely positive assessment was given to sum up the eighth edition of the Bif&st, which has just drawn to a close: around 75,000 viewers packed out the 300 events spread across eight days and 12 venues, including screenings, debates, focuses, and meetings with Italian and foreign auteurs, actors and producers. The textual and multimedia content that the Bif&st shared on its three official social-media pages (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) racked up over 385,000 views, with an average increase in the number of users compared to the previous edition, of around 10%; individuals between the ages of 18 and 34 made up the bulk of these users. Meanwhile, the official Bif&st website notched up more than 110,000 page views, including visitors from other European and non-European countries.

Lastly, the dates for the next edition of the Bif&st have been announced: it will unspool from 21-28 April 2018, and as revealed by director Felice Laudadio, next year’s big Retrospective “will be dedicated to a living, international male or female auteur”. 

Here is the complete list of winners:

First and Second Works

Ettore Scola Award for Best Director
Alessandro Aronadio - Ears [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alessandro Aronadio
film profile] (Italy)

Mariangela Melato Award for Best Lead Actress 
Sara Serraiocco – Worldly Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Marco Danieli
film profile] (Italy)

Gabriele Ferzetti Award for Best Lead Actor 
Luca Marinelli – There Is a Light [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabio Mollo
film profile] (Italy)

Best Director 
Goran Paskaljević - Land of the Gods [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Goran Paskaljević
film profile] (Serbia/India)

Best Actress 
Hera Hilmar - An Ordinary Man (USA)

Best Actor 
Leonardo Sbaraglia – The Lost Brother [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Argentina/Uruguay/Spain/France)

Special Mention 
Andrea Carpenzano - Tutto quello che vuoi [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Italy)

(Translated from Italian)