Stepne wins the Trieste Film Festival
- Ukrainian director Maryna Vroda’s feature film scooped the award for Best Film while 1489 by Armenia’s Shoghakat Vardanyan bagged Best Documentary
The 35th edition of the Trieste Film Festival closed with the awarding of the Trieste Prize (worth €5,000) to Ukrainian director Maryna Vroda’s feature film Stepne [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. As enthused by the jury composed of Anca Puiu, Ivan Salatić and Lenka Tyrpáková, this is “a film by a debut director who has particularly impressed us with her melancholic portrayal of the life of a disappearing country, of pain and vanished hopes, rendered at the same time with sweetness and authenticity”. Meanwhile, a Special Mention was won by young Serbian actor Jovan Ginić, making his debut as the protagonist of Vladimir Perišić’s Lost Country [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vladimir Perišić
film profile], “for his remarkably consistent and convincing performance in his debut film, Lost Country, and for managing to render the complex personality of a child torn apart by political turmoil in 1990s Yugoslavia”. Jovan also won the Best Emerging Actor prize in Cannes’ Critics’ Week for his performance. A Special Mention likewise found its way to Hungarian actress Ágnes Krasznahorkai, who led the cast of Katalin Moldova’s Without Air [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katalin Moldovai
film profile], “for the intelligence with which she uses her talent and the sensitivity with which she conveys the drama of a woman caught in the meshes of bureaucracy and the preconceptions of those who embody the system”.
In the documentary competition, the jury composed of Graziella Bildesheim, Dmitrij Gluščevskij and Vladan Petković awarded its Alpe Adria Film Prize to 1489 [+see also:
film review
interview: Shoghakat Vardanyan
film profile] by Shoghakat Vardanyan (named Best Film at the 2023 IDFA) for the following reasons: “Created by an artist who had no film training but shows undeniable raw talent and impeccable instinct, this film is a punch in the gut, raw and no-frills [...]”. A Special Mention subsequently winged its way to Motherland [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Belorussian directors Alexander Mihalkovich and Hanna Badziaka, “a film that is dark and intense, but at the same time insightful and moving. Initially very circumscribed in history and setting, the film is able to reveal certain aspects of society that play a significant role in the current geopolitical situation [...]”.
The Cineuropa Prize, awarded to the best feature film in competition, was won by Without Air, while the audience awards gracing the festival’s three competitions were bagged by Without Air (Best Feature Film), Cent’anni by Maja Doroteja Prelog (Best Documentary), and A Piece of Liberty by Antigoni Kapaka (Best Short Film). The 2024 Corso Salani Prize, meanwhile, was nabbed by Ludovica Fales’ Lala [+see also:
interview: Ludovica Fales
film profile].
Last but not least, the TSFF Shorts Prize went to Olga Kosanović’s Land of Mountains, while Emanuela Muzzupappa’s Ancella d’amore earned itself a Special Mention.
The full list of awards is as follows:
Feature Film Competition
Trieste Prize for Best Feature Film
Stepne [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Maryna Vroda (Ukraine/Germany/Poland/Slovakia)
Special Mention for Best Actor
Jovan Ginić - Lost Country [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vladimir Perišić
film profile] (Serbia/France/Luxembourg/Croatia)
Special Mention for Best Actress
Ágnes Krasznahorkai - Without Air [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katalin Moldovai
film profile] (Hungary/Romania)
Documentary Competition
Opificio Neirami Alpe Adria Film Prize
1489 [+see also:
film review
interview: Shoghakat Vardanyan
film profile] - Shoghakat Vardanyan (Armenia)
Special Mention
Motherland [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Alexander Mihalkovich, Hanna Badziaka (Sweden/Ukraine/Norway)
Short Film Competition
Osiride Brovedani Foundation TSFF Shorts Prize
Land of Mountains - Olga Kosanović (Austria/Germany)
Special Mention
Ancella d’amore - Emanuela Muzzupappa (Italy)
Other awards
Cineuropa Prize
Without Air - Katalin Moldovai
Audience Award for Best Feature Film
Without Air - Katalin Moldovai
Audience Award for Best Documentary
Cent’anni - Maja Doroteja Prelog (Slovenia/Poland/Italy/Serbia)
Audience Award for Best Short Film
A Piece of Liberty - Antigoni Kapaka (Greece)
2024 Corso Salani Prize
Lala [+see also:
interview: Ludovica Fales
film profile] - Ludovica Fales (Italy)
Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa Prize for Best Documentary in Competition
Between Revolutions [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vlad Petri
film profile] – Vlad Petri (Romania/Croatia/Qatar/Iran)
Municipality of Trieste PAG (Progetto Area Giovani) Jury Prize for Best Short Film
The Sea in Between - Lun Sevnik (Slovenia/Czech Republic/Croatia)
Special Mention
Il compleanno di Enrico - Francesco Sossai (Germany/France/Italy)
2024 Eastern Star Prize
Ewa Puszczyńska, producer of The Zone of Interest [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (UK/Poland/USA)
(Translated from Italian)
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