02/11/2021 - Barbora Sliepková’s doc bagged three awards in the main competition; You Are Ceauşescu to Me and Brotherhood were also among the winners of multiple gongs

The crew of Lines with their awards, with director Barbora Sliepková second from left (© Jan Hromadko)

At the awards ceremony of the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, which took place on Saturday 30 October in the DKO cinema in Jihlava, Barbora Sliepková’s documentary Lines [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Barbora Sliepková
film profile] emerged as Best Film in the main international competition, Opus Bonum. Along with the main award, Sliepková’s film was also crowned as Best Debut, while Michal Horváth also received the Award for Best Sound Design for his work on the movie. Professional awards for sound design, cinematography and editing are a novelty at the festival, introduced this year for the 25^th-anniversary edition.

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In the same competition, Sebastian Mihăilescu’s doc You Are Ceauşescu to Me [+see also:
film review
film profile] bagged the Award for Best Documentary from Central and Eastern Europe, while Barbu Bălăşoiu received the Award for Best Cinematography. Laura Viezzoli’s When You Are Close to Me [+see also:
film review
film profile] snagged a Special Mention, while Zhu Rikun’s No Desire to Hide was rewarded for Best Original Approach.

In the domestic Czech Joy competition, Francesco Montagner’s Brotherhood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Francesco Montagner
film profile] emerged as the overall winner, scooping the Main Award and also the Best Cinematography Award for Prokop Souček’s work on the film. Zuzana Piussi’s Ordeal and Milan Klepikov’s Preparations for the Film T secured Special Mentions, while Heaven, directed by Adéla Špaljová and Tomáš Etzler, took home the Audience Award.

Prizes were also given out in the Testimonies competition: Tuija Halttunen’s How to Kill a Cloud [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tuija Halttunen
film profile] was singled out as the Best Film in the competition, while Jin Huaqing’s Dark Red Forest got the Special Mention for the Best Film About Knowledge, Robin Petré’s From the Wild Sea [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robin Petré
film profile] pocketed a Special Mention for the Best Film About Nature and Vitaly Mansky’s Gorbachev. Heaven [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] got a Special Mention for the Best Film About Politics.

The 25^th edition of the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival unspooled physically from 26-31 October. More than 300 films from 63 countries were screened.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Opus Bonum

Best World Documentary Film
Lines [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Barbora Sliepková
film profile] – Barbora Sliepková (Slovakia)
Special Mention
When You Are Close to Me [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Laura Viezzoli (Italy)

Best Central and East European Documentary Film
You Are Ceauşescu to Me [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Sebastian Mihăilescu (Romania)
Special Mention
When Flowers Are Not Silent – Andrei Kutsila (Poland)

Best Editing
Tin Dirdamal – Dark Light Voyage (Mexico/Vietnam)

Best Cinematography
Barbu Bălăşoiu – You Are Ceauşescu to Me

Best Sound Design
Michal Horváth – Lines

Best Debut
Lines – Barbora Sliepková

Best Original Approach
No Desire to Hide – Zhu Rikun (China)

Student Jury Award
Yoon – Pedro Figueiredo Neto, Ricardo Falcão (Portugal)

Czech Joy

Best Czech Documentary Film
Brotherhood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Francesco Montagner
film profile] – Francesco Montagner (Italy/Czech Republic)
Special Mentions
Ordeal – Zuzana Piussi (Slovakia/Czech Republic)
Preparations for the Film T – Milan Klepikov (Czech Republic)

Best Editing
Jana Dočková – Out in Force [+see also:
interview: Martin Mareček
film profile] (Czech Republic)

Best Sound Design
Viera Marinová – Love, Dad (Czech Republic, short)

Best Cinematography
Prokop Souček – Brotherhood

Student Jury Award
Leaving Beginnings Behind – Linda Kallistová Jablonská

Testimonies

Best Film Testimony
How to Kill a Cloud [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tuija Halttunen
film profile] – Tuija Halttunen (Finland/Denmark)

Best Film About Nature Special Mention
From the Wild Sea [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robin Petré
film profile] – Robin Petré (Denmark)

Best Film About Knowledge Special Mention
Dark Red Forest – Jin Huaqing (China)

Best Film About Politics Special Mention
Gorbachev. Heaven [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Vitaly Mansky (Czech Republic/Latvia)

Fascinations

Best Experimental Documentary Film
In and Out a Window – Richard Tuohy, Dianna Barrie (Australia)

Fascinations. Exprmntl.Cz

Best Czech Experimental Documentary
Beautiful Solution – Eliška Cílková (Czech Republic)

Short Joy

Best Short Documentary Film
Open Mountain – Maria Rojas Arias (Colombia/Portugal)

Silver Eye Awards

Feature Length
Mara – Sasha Kulak (France)
Special Mention
Orpheus – Vadim Kostrov (Russia)

Short
Sound of Weariness – Taymour Boulous (Belgium/Lebanon/Hungary/Portugal)

Audience Award
Heaven – Adéla Špaljová, Tomáš Etzler (Czech Republic)

Contribution to World Cinema
Jana Ševčíková