Scanorama rewards Kyuka: Before Summer’s End
by Marta Bałaga
- The jury has lavished praise on Kostis Charamountanis’s film, while Tabasco by Andrius Žemaitis scored a Special Mention
European Film Festival Scanorama, based in Lithuania, announced its main winner on Sunday: Kostis Charamountanis’s playful coming-of-age story Kyuka: Before Summer’s End [+see also:
film review
interview: Kostis Charamountanis
film profile].
“The film reveals the complex dynamics of family relationships with sincere sensitivity. Every frame captivates with its distinctive glow, while the characters’ journeys unfold with emotional nuance and vivid performances,” argued the jurors. Led by Polish director Piotr Dumała, the jury included Cineuropa’s own Domenico La Porta, producer Ada Solomon, the Finnish Film Foundation’s Jenni Domingo and Ukrainian filmmaker Oksana Karpovych (rewarded last year for the harrowing documentary Intercepted [+see also:
film review
film profile]).
Kyuka: Before Summer’s End, following a single father and his two children on a sunny holiday – where they finally get to meet someone very special from their past – premiered at Cannes, in the ACID section. “For such a sun-soaked story, Kostis Charamountanis’s film is surprisingly dark,” wrote Cineuropa in May. Now, it has also been noticed for its “moving artistic power, poetic cinematic language and subtle insight in portraying a moment when not only a season, but a certain stage of life, comes to an end.”
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One of the jury members, critic and programmer Nanako Tsukidate, presented a separate award, the Special Recognition for Audacious Aesthetic Vision, which went to Tabasco by Lithuanian director Andrius Žemaitis “for an ambitious and intense aesthetic vision that both honours and enriches the history of cinema”. Žemaitis is no stranger to the Vilnius-based event, having already won Best Lithuanian Short Film for Alizava back in 2021.
This year, the Short Film Competition rewarded E/rased Worlds by Aušra Lukošiūnienė (Best Lithuanian Short Film) and Those Who Move by Stephanie Ricci, named Best International Short Film. It was praised for its “sensitivity, craft and atmosphere” as well as “the subtle performances and confident direction, [which] reveal a filmmaker who knows her craft well”.
The celebration – which culminated in a screening of Maciej J Drygas’s found-footage documentary Trains [+see also:
film review
interview: Maciej J Drygas
film profile] – was marred by ongoing cultural turmoil in Lithuania and protests prompted by the government’s decision to assign the Culture Ministry to a populist party. Another demonstration will take place on 21 November.
“These days remind us that the cultural community is facing many challenges, yet they also reveal how strongly we stand together,” said Scanorama founder and director Gražina Arlickaitė. “The support we’ve received has shown that cinema remains a language of unity, connection and shared meaning. Scanorama continues to thrive because people believe in the power of culture.”
The European Film Festival Scanorama Festival will wrap on 23 November.
Here is the full list of award winners:
Best Feature
Kyuka: Before Summer’s End [+see also:
film review
interview: Kostis Charamountanis
film profile] - Kostis Charamountanis (Greece/North Macedonia)
Special Recognition for Audacious Aesthetic Vision
Tabasco - Andrius Žemaitis (Lithuania)
Short Film Competition
Best International Short Film
Those Who Move - Stephanie Ricci (Brazil/Portugal)
Best Lithuanian Short Film
E/rased Worlds - Aušra Lukošiūnienė (Lithuania)
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