Sergei Loznitsa's Two Prosecutors crowned in Palić
- Zhanna Ozirna's Honeymoon, Paolo Marinou-Blanco's Dreaming of Lions and Alexandros Avranas' A Quiet Life also among the laureates
The 32nd edition of the European Film Festival Palić came to a close with an awards ceremony which took place on the northern Serbian resort town’s iconic summer stage, in the middle of the town park, on Wednesday 23 July, followed by screenings of the festival’s closing films: Maja Uzelac’s mid-length documentary Echoes of the Plains, which was screened out of competition, and the final competitive title, Anne Le Ny’s Out of Control [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. The award-winners were first revealed to the public during the last press conference which was held at noon that same day. This year’s edition (running 19-23 July) was two days shorter than usual, but it nonetheless managed to showcase films across eleven sections, while other side programmes connected to the festival ran either before or will run after the official core of the event.
The Official Selection jury was composed of Berlinale Talents project manager Nikola Joetze, the director of the Red Sea Souk Market at the Red Sea International Film Festival Holy Daniel, and Serbian filmmaker Zoran Amar, who awarded the Golden Tower for Best Film to Sergei Loznitsa’s Two Prosecutors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sergei Loznitsa
film profile]. In their statement, the jury described the film as “a tragic story showing how hope for greater justice is futile”, and commended Loznitsa for emphasising that “honesty is noble, but it does not/could not/did not work.” The same jury awarded Paulo Marinou-Blanco the Best Director trophy for his work on Dreaming of Lions [+see also:
film review
interview: Paolo Marinou-Blanco
film profile] and gave a special mention to Out of Control.
Sergei Loznitsa also won this year’s Aleksandar Lifka Honorary Award for his contribution to European cinema. Serbian actor Svetozar Cvetković triumphed for his contribution to Serbian cinema, while Austrian experimental cinema auteur Peter Tscherkassky is this year’s recipient of the Underground Spirit award.
The Parallels and Encounters section jury was composed of Peter Webber (a filmmaker and editor in the UK), Tomi Salkovski (a producer in North Macedonia) and Bernd Buder (a festival director in Germany), who crowned Honeymoon [+see also:
film review
interview: Zhanna Ozirna
film profile], the debut feature by Zhanna Ozirna, their champion. They also singled out The Black Hole [+see also:
interview: Moonika Siimets
film profile] by Moonika Siimets for a Special Mention.
Last but not least, the FIPRESCI jury (Kata Gyürke, Davide Magnisi and Leigh Singer) decided to reward Alexandros Avranas’ Quiet Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alexandros Avranas
film profile], while the Gorki List Audience Award winner will be announced later.
The full list of awards is as follows:
Official Selection
Golden Tower for Best Film
Two Prosecutors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sergei Loznitsa
film profile] – Sergei Loznitsa (France/Germany/Netherlands/Latvia/Romania/Lithuania)
Palić Tower for Best Director
Paolo Marinou-Blanco – Dreaming of Lions [+see also:
film review
interview: Paolo Marinou-Blanco
film profile] (Portugal/Spain/Brazil)
Special Mention
Out of Control [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Anne Le Ny (France)
Parallels and Encounters
Best Film
Honeymoon [+see also:
film review
interview: Zhanna Ozirna
film profile] – Zhanna Ozirna (Ukraine)
Special Mention
The Black Hole [+see also:
interview: Moonika Siimets
film profile] – Moonika Siimets (Estonia/Finland)
Other Awards
FIPRESCI Jury Award for Best Film
Quiet Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alexandros Avranas
film profile] – Alexandros Avranas (France/Germany/Sweden/Estonia/Greece/Finland)
Gorki List Audience Award
TBA
Honorary Awards
Aleksandar Lifka Award
Sergei Loznitsa, Svetozar Cvetković
Underground Spirit Award
Peter Tscherkassky
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