30/07/2024 - Amongst the winners this year are Joren Molter's Summer Brother, Agnieszka Zwiefka's Silent Trees, Soleen Yusef's Winners and Magdalena Niec's Lampo, The Travelling Dog

The 54th edition of the Giffoni Film Festival (19-28 July), one of the most important international gatherings for cinema dedicated to childhood and youth, closed on Sunday. 5000 young jurors coming from 33 countries have decided on the winners of this year’s Gryphon Awards, divided between feature films and short films for each category.

The Elements +6 section voted for the Polish film Lampo, The Travelling Dog, directed by Magdalena Niec. The story follows the strong bond between a sheepdog with fluffy white fur like a cloud and his companion in adventures, Zuzia, who has a heart condition. Against all odds, the loyal Lampo shows the whole world that he is ready to save the life of his little friend.

The jurors of the Elements +10 section, meanwhile, awarded Winners [+see also:
interview: Soleen Yusef
film profile] (Germany) by Soleen Yusef. The film talks about the cultural and linguistic barriers that prevent the insertion into society of a Kurdish family who’s arrived in Berlin. Sport, thankfully, can bridge the gap. Mona is a talented young footballer and thanks to her professor Mr Che, she will make sure to give great satisfaction to herself and her family.

The Generator +13 category chose the film Didi (United States) by filmmaker Sean Wang. In the film, 13-year-old Chris Wang’s Chinese origins are an obstacle when interacting with his American friends. Misunderstandings with his family and his schoolmates lead him to collide with a harsh reality.

The best feature according to the Generator +16 section was Tuesday (United States/United Kingdom), directed by Daina Oniunas Pusić. The film focuses on the relationship between Death and a terminally ill little girl named Tuesday. A bond forms that will lead the former to give more time to Tuesday to say goodbye to her mother Zora.

Furthermore, the jury of the Generator +18 section has declared Summer Brother [+see also:
film review
interview: Joren Molter
film profile] (Netherlands/Belgium) by Joren Molter the best film. It follows Lucien, a boy with serious physical problems. With the summer holidays approaching, his brother Brian and his father Maurice decide to let the young man hospitalised in the clinic return to their mobile home in exchange for a monetary reward. Brian, finding himself alone to care for his disabled brother, will realise that he must make a drastic decision.

Finally, in the Gex Doc section, the winner was Silent Trees [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Poland/Germany/Denmark) by director Agnieszka Zwiefka. In the feature, the dramatic loss of her mother leaves Kurdish teenager Runa having to take care of her four brothers and her depressed father. With her dream of becoming a lawyer and the constant fear of being repatriated to Iraq, Runa starts to draw everything she feels in a notebook.

The list of this year's winners:

Elements +3

Gryphon Award for best short film
Hug Me – Jeong Yun-Jeong (South Korea)

Elements +6

Gryphon Award for best feature film
Lampo, The Travelling Dog – Magdalena Niec (Poland)

Gryphon Award for best short film
Homework - Nacho Arjona (Spain)

Elements +10

Gryphon Award for best feature film
Winners [+see also:
interview: Soleen Yusef
film profile] – Soleen Yusef (Germany)

Gryphon Award for best short film
Yuck! – Loïc Espuche (France)

Generator +13

Gryphon Award for best feature film
Didi – Sean Wang (United States)

Generator +16

Gryphon Award for best feature film
Tuesday – Daina Oniunas Pusić (United States/United Kingdom)

Generator +18

Gryphon Award for best feature film
Summer Brother [+see also:
film review
interview: Joren Molter
film profile] – Joren Molter (Netherlands/Belgium)

Gex Doc

Gryphon Award for best feature film
Silent Trees [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Agnieszka Zwiefka (Poland/Germany/Denmark)

Parental Experience

Gryphon Award for best short film
Burul – Adilet Karzhoev (Kyrgyzstan)

Other awards

EasyJet Special Award – Elements+ 6
Buffalo Kids [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Juan Jesús García Galocha, Pedro Solís Garcíacon (Spain)

ACEA Special Award – Elements +10
Kensuke’s Kingdom [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Kirk Hendry, Neil Boyle (United Kingdom/France/Luxembourg)

Lete Special Award – Elements +10
La bicicletta di Bartali [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Enrico Paolantonio (Italy/Ireland/India)

Conai Special Award – Elements +10
Gravity – Robotina (Italy)

Unicredit Special Award – Generator +13
The Major Tones [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Ingrid Pokropek (Argentina/Spain)

Percorsi Creativi CGS Award – Generator +13
We Grown Now – Minhal Baig (United States)

Percorsi Creativi CGS Award – Generator +16
The Imminent Age – Collectiu Vigilia, Clara Serrano Llorens, Gerard Simó Gimeno (Spain)

(Translated from Italian)