33 Scenes from Life scoops two awards at Locarno
German-language films from Germany and Austria picked up honours at the Locarno Film Festival (August 6-16), which has just closed.
Malgoska Szumowska’s debut film, 33 Scenes from Life [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – produced by Cologne-based Pandora in co-production with Polish companies STI Studio Filmowe and Shot Szumowski, as well as ZDF and Arte – won the Special Jury Prize and the Youth Jury Second Prize.
Written by the director, the film is set in Cologne and stars German actress Julia Jentsch (Sophie Scholl [+see also:
trailer
film profile]). The latter plays a fulfilled and popular woman who suddenly finds herself alone when her mother discovers she has cancer and her father takes refuge in alcoholism. The cast also includes Denmark’s Peter Gantzler and Poland’s Maciej Stuhr (son of Jerzy Stuhr).
Austrian films were well represented at Locarno with one title in competition, two films screened on the Piazza Grande (Andreas Prochaska’s Dead in 3 Days 2 and Philipp Stölzl’s North Face [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), various shorts and Austrian/German co-production Stolperstein in the "Here & Elsewhere" section.
As for prizes, Händl Klaus’ March – produced by Antonin Svoboda for Coop99, a company renowned for backing young Austrian auteur films – won the Silver Leopard for Best Debut Film. The title looks at how the suicide of three youngsters without obvious reasons to end their lives causes deep shock in a little Tyrolean village.
Finally, the UBS Audience Award went to Garth Jennings’ UK/French/German co-production Son of Rambow [+see also:
trailer
film profile].
(Translated from French)
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