15/04/2019 - Other award-winning titles include Two for Joy and Cronofobia; the Cineuropa Prize went to Genesis and the Mario Verdone Award to Boys Cry

Árpád Bogdán receiving his Cineuropa Prize for Genesis (© Lecce European Film Festival)

Oray [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
film profile] has emerged with the Best Film crown at the 20^th edition of the Lecce European Film Festival, which wrapped up with an awards ceremony on Saturday. The jury, chaired by Marco Müller and comprising Guillame Calop, Pippo Mezzapesa, Ana Urushadze and Olena Yershova, bestowed the Golden Olive Tree, named after Cristina Soldano, upon the film by Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay, branding it “a disturbing analysis of the contrast between traditional beliefs and human behaviour in our modern-day societies”. In the jury’s eyes, the movie was deserving of the award because, “starting from an apparently insignificant event, the director successfully explores some of the big questions linked to the communities that recently immigrated to Europe”.

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The same jury handed the Award for Best Screenplay to Elma Tataragić for Stitches [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miroslav Terzić
film profile], directed by Miroslav Terzić, because “the masterful screenplay transforms a dramatic chapter in the recent history of the Balkans into a powerful psychological drama”. The Best Cinematography Award went to Tamás Dobos for Genesis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Árpád Bogdán, Andrea Taschler
film profile], helmed by Árpád Bogdán (“The expertly framed shots succeed in their aim of fusing personal emotions with social context”), while the Special Jury Award was given to Cronofobia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Francesco Rizzi
film profile] by Francesco Rizzi (“Alienation within one of the most prosperous European societies is put under the microscope with human warmth and understanding”). The latter film also took home the SNGCI Award for Best European Actress/Actor, which honoured the work of lead actor Vinicio Marchioni (“Because even with his character’s moments of silence, with a single gesture or the intensity of a glance, he manages to give a body and a voice to a mysterious man hiding a secret”), while Genesis was also the movie chosen as the recipient of the Cineuropa Prize, judged by the “rock and roll” jury made up of Stefan Kitanov, Stefan Laudyn and Stefan Uhrik to be “a film that rocks and rolls”. 

The FIPRESCI Jury Award was presented to Two for Joy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Tom Beard, “for its convincing portrayal of the disintegration of the family unit, following on the heels of great British social-realist cinema and bolstered by a perfect cast”. The 2019 Mario Verdone Award was handed to Boys Cry [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo
film profile] by Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo, “an extraordinarily shot debut that already begins with an ambitious idea of cinema, and which unexpectedly oozes the need for a tense moral journey towards personal redemption, over and above social redemption”. 

The 21^st edition of the Lecce European Film Festival will unspool from 30 March-4 April 2020. 

Here is the full list of award winners:

Golden Olive Tree Competition

Golden Olive Tree - “Cristina Soldano Award for Best Film”
Oray [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
film profile] - Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay (Germany)

Best Screenplay Award
Elma Tataragić - Stitches [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miroslav Terzić
film profile] (Serbia/Slovenia/Croatia/Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Best Cinematography Award
Tamás Dobos - Genesis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Árpád Bogdán, Andrea Taschler
film profile] (Hungary)

Special Jury Prize
Cronofobia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Francesco Rizzi
film profile] - Francesco Rizzi (Switzerland)

FIPRESCI Award
Two for Joy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Tom Beard (UK)

SNGCI Award for Best European Actress/Actor 
Vinicio Marchioni – Cronofobia

Cineuropa Prize
Genesis - Árpád Bogdán

Audience Award 
Summer Survivors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marija Kavtaradzė
film profile] - Marija Kavtaradze (Lithuania)

Short-film Festival

Emidio Greco Award for Best Short Film 
YOUSEF - Mohamed Hossameldin (Italy)

National Short Film Centre Award, Augustus Color Award
Nessun dorma - Paolo Strippoli (Italy)
Special Mention
Et in terra pacis - Mattia Epifani (Italy)

Rai Cinema Channel Award
Et in terra pacis - Mattia Epifani

Unisalento Award
Satyagraha - Nuanda Sheridan (Italy)

Other awards

Mario Verdone Award
Boys Cry [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo
film profile] - Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo (Italy)

Agiscuola Award
Genesis - Árpád Bogdán

Rotary Club Lecce Award
We’ll Rise at Dawn - Jean-Marie Benjamin (Italy)

(Translated from Italian)