Montpellier crowns Greek Oscar hopeful Eduart
This weekend, Eduart [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Entoyapt), the third feature by Greek director Angeliki Antoniou, won top honours at the 29th edition of the Mediterranean Film Festival in Montpellier.
The Greek nominee for the 2008 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar shortlist – starring Kosovar and German actors Eshref Durmishi and André Hennicke (Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth Without Youth [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), respectively, alongside Ndricim Xhepa, Dancho Chevreski and Ermela Teli – has scooped up numerous awards so far, starting with the Fipresci Award as well as Best Film, Production Design and Screenplay in the Greek film section of the 2006 Thessaloniki Film Festival.
Written by the director (discovered in competition at Locarno 1992 with Donusa) and based on real-life events, the story traces the misfortunes of a young man brought up in a cruel and oppressive family, who leaves Albania dreaming of becoming a rock star. But his reckless attitude and youthful spirit lead him to commit a murder in Athens.
Abandoned by everyone, including his own family, he is arrested and imprisoned in very harsh conditions. However, with the help of a German doctor, he learns how to open his heart to others and feel remorse for the act he has committed.
Produced by Greek company CL Productions and co-produced by their compatriots Odeon and Germany’s Jost Hering Filme, for its approximately €1.5m budget Eduart also received financial support from the Greek Film Center, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, ERT (Hellenic Radio & Television), Le Spot and Nova. Distributed in Greek cinemas in March by Odeon, the film is being sold internationally by the Greek Film Center.
(Translated from French)
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