Il buco wins the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg

by Teresa Vena

22/11/2021 - Italy's Michelangelo Frammartino has been handed the International Newcomer Award for Best Director at this year's edition of the German festival

Il buco wins the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg

Il buco director Michelangelo Frammatino and co-screenwriter Giovanna Giuliani on screen, during the festival's closing ceremony (© Sebastian Weindel/IFFMH)

The second edition of the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg (11-21 November) to have unfolded in a hybrid format has already been and gone. Besides a retrospective entitled “Breaks and Turning Points” dedicated to milestone movies which have screened at the festival over its 70-year existence, not to mention a programme for children and tributes to German producer Bettina Brokemper and French director Claude Lelouch, the gathering also showcased a selection of truly international productions across various categories and competitions.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

The main “On the Rise” competition consisted of eighteen films, either debut, second or third titles from directors at the beginning of their career. A jury of three - including festival curator and film journalist Michelle Carey, German film director, author and actor Nicolas Wackerbarth (Casting [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicolas Wackerbarth
film profile]) and publicist, curator and producer Kathleen McInnis - handed the Best New International Director Award to Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Frammantino for his intimate drama based on a true story, Il Buco [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michelangelo Frammartino
film profile]. The trophy came with a cash prize of €30,000, and the film, which premiered this year in Venice, tells the story of a group of cave researchers who, in 1961, found one of the deepest caves in southern Italy’s Pollino mountains. In the words of the jury: “This film impressed us with its unique voice, the sensations and contours of exploration conveyed, and its seductive, cinematic thoughtfulness - a visual voyage of discovery and a thriller of physical but also emotional proportions."

Following its creation in 2020, the second Rainer Werner Fassbinder Award for Best Screenplay, endowed with a cash prize of €10,000, was also handed out at this year’s event: it went to French-Belgian production Zero Fucks Given [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuel Marre and Julie Le…
film profile] by Julie Lecoustre and Emmanuel Marre. The Mannheim-Heidelberg film festival jury were thoroughly convinced by this “vivid and authentic portrait of a young woman trying to lead a seductive, Instagram life while camouflaging the existential angst beneath”, which premiered at Cannes’ Critic's Week. The prize was awarded in collaboration with the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation, as was the Special Mention for Haruhara-san's Recorder by Japanese director Kyoshi Sugita. The aim of this accolade is to honor Fassbinder as an author as well as a director - just one of the talented filmmakers discovered over the festival's long history.

The members of the Ecumenical Jury - Reverend Michael Kranzusch, jurist Uta Losem and theologian Lothar Strüber - handed their award and its €2,500 cash prize to French-Belgian production My Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Antoinette Boulat
film profile] by Antoinette Boulat, which is a drama about a young woman struggling with grief following her sister's death. The jury’s statement confirmed that the director “has successfully crafted a magical cinematic moment”.

Finally, the Student Jury Award and the Audience Award – and their accompanying €5,000 cash prizes - were both won by The First Fallen by Brazilian director Rodrigo de Oliveira. The film examines the destiny of various victims of the AIDS epidemic.

The full list of award winners at the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg is as follows:

Best New International Director
Il Buco [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michelangelo Frammartino
film profile] – Michelangelo Frammartino (Italy)

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Award for Best Screenplay
Zero Fucks Given [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuel Marre and Julie Le…
film profile] – Julie Lecoustre, Emmanuel Marre (France/Belgium)
Special Mention
Haruhara-san's Recorder - Kyoshi Sugita (Japan)