29/09/2021 - The festival has also handed out an Award for Best Comedy as well as a prize for the best film dealing with human rights and freedom of expression

Martin Severýn, the Communication and Cultural Affairs Officer from the Embassy of Sweden, receiving the award for Charter on behalf of director Amanda Kernell (© CTK)

The 28^th edition of the International Film Festival Prague – Febiofest (see the news) has wrapped with an awards ceremony, where Amanda Kernell’s sophomore feature, Charter [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Amanda Kernell
film profile], took home the top prize. The Swedish film about a mother fighting for her children already had the Swedish Guldbagge Film Awards for Best Directing, Best Cinematography and Best Actress under its belt. “Charter tells a common story with unmatched mastery. The tension never drops, the film brings a new impulse, a new angle, at every step, driving the story forward until the very last moment,” noted the jury, consisting of Slovak director-producer Ivan Ostrochovský, Iranian filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi and Czech actor-director Jiří Mádl. The Portuguese drama Listen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ana Rocha de Sousa
film profile] by Ana Rocha De Sousa received a Special Mention.

The 33 members of the audience jury, headed up by honorary chairman Michael Kocáb, voted in the Comedy Competition and picked Adam Carter Rehmeier’s Dinner in America as the winner. The jury appreciated the helmer’s original, dynamic take on the topic of social outsiders, difference and superficiality, as well as the excellent acting by the cast. For the sixth time, films dealing with freedom, human rights, freedom of expression and the struggle for a life lived in dignity were selected from across all of the festival’s sections to compete for the Amnesty International Febiofest Award. The jury decided to hand the gong to the film that represented Kosovo at the Academy Awards, Exile [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Visar Morina
film profile] by Visar Morina. The members of the jury applauded the way “the psycho-social horror, sophisticated in the best sense of the word, leads viewers from the topic of social prejudice to individual responsibility”. The jury of the Amnesty International Febiofest Award 2021 also decided to bestow a Special Mention upon Hamy Ramezan’s feature-length debut, Any Day Now [+see also:
trailer
interview: Hamy Ramezan
film profile], inspired by his own experience of being part of an Iranian family living in Finland.

The 28^th edition of IFF Prague – Febiofest screened over 100 movies, and the industry programme was dedicated to the topic of bitcoin in order for filmmakers to have a better understanding of the cryptocurrency and its relevance for content creators, the Lightning Network and Podcasting 2.0 while preparing for crowdfunding in cryptocurrency and accepting micropayments for content. The festival continues as a travelling showcase throughout various regions in the Czech Republic until 10 October.

Here is the full list of winning films:

Main Competition

Best Film
Charter [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Amanda Kernell
film profile] - Amanda Kernell (Sweden/Denmark/Norway)
Special Mention
Listen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ana Rocha de Sousa
film profile] - Ana Rocha de Sousa (Portugal/UK)

Comedy Competition

Best Film
Dinner in America - Adam Carter Rehmeier (USA)

Amnesty International Febiofest Award Competition

Main Prize
Exile [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Visar Morina
film profile] - Visar Morina (Kosovo/Germany/Belgium)
Special Mention
Any Day Now [+see also:
trailer
interview: Hamy Ramezan
film profile] - Hamy Ramezan (Finland)

You Are a Filmmaker Competition

Individual Category 1st Place
Homemade - Sofie Mayorga

Individual Category 2nd Place
My Town – Prague’s 6th District - Lenka Štěpánková and Lucie Mandová

Individual Category 3rd Place
Senohraby - František Šusta

Student Teams 1st Place
The Kolin Dragon – A team from the Kolín V Elementary School

Student Teams 2nd Place
Frýdek=Místek – A team from the Osmička Elementary School

Student Teams 3rd Place
My City Is... - A team from the Ostrava Secondary School for Arts