The audience of the 43rd edition of the Bergamo Film Meeting has cast its vote: Gina [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] is the winner of the Exhibition Competition. The family drama directed by Austrian filmmaker Ulrike Kofler was awarded the Bergamo Film Meeting Prize worth €5,000. In second place, thank to audience votes, comes Juan Olea’s Bitter Gold, while third place was won by Karim Dridi’s Lazy Girls.

The international jury, meanwhile, composed of Dániel Hevér (director), Andrea Inzerillo (artistic director of Sicilia Queer filmfest) and Tiina Lokk (artistic director of Tallinn’s Black Nights Film Festival), awarded Best Director (worth €2,000) to Winter in Sokcho [+lee también:
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entrevista: Koya Kamura
ficha de la película], which is French-Japanese filmmaker Koya Kamura’s feature film debut. In their words, “The jury was especially impressed with how this first work uses complex material on a filmmaking level”. “Its photography, editing and acting performances work wonderfully together to create hopes around repairing families, finding love and the arrival of spring. The film depicts a search for identity with sensitivity and subtlety, telling a story about generational and cultural parallels. It’s a meteorological study of the soul which is always incredibly intense and complex”.

In the Close-Up line-up, the CGIL Bergamo Prize for Best Documentary (worth €2,000) for the documentary earning the most audience votes went to Miriam Pucitta’s Motherland (Switzerland/Germany), while the CGIL “La Sortie de l’Usine” Jury Prize, decided upon by CGIL Bergamo union representatives and awarded to the documentary which best tackles themes relating to the world of work and welfare (€1,000), was won by Juri Rechinsky’s Dear Beautiful Beloved [+lee también:
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ficha de la película]  (Austria). The jury described the film as “A documentary which takes an incredibly sensitive and precise approach to talking about the reality of the war in Ukraine. We appreciated the careful way in which the film documents the consequences of this conflict, offering up a powerful and poignant portrayal of those living through and enduring this war. Without sensationalising but opting for an intense and respectful form of visual language, Dear Beautiful Beloved powerfully conveys the horror of war and the burden it places on people and communities. At this historic moment in time when talking about war could become a regular thing, this documentary forces us to take a close look at it, reminding ourselves that there are stories, people and broken lives behind each and every conflict. For its ability to make us reflect with great depth and rigour, we award the film this prize”.

Last but not least, a Special Mention was bestowed upon Personale [+lee también:
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entrevista: Carmen Trocker
ficha de la película] by Carmen Trocker (Italy/Austria), “for the film’s ability to lend a voice to those arriving in our country in search of a better future but who find themselves fulfilling roles which are often invisible yet fundamental for propping up an economy which results in luxury for the few and sacrifice for many. Using powerful images and steering clear of rhetoric, Personale depicts the dynamics within a system which all too often exploits without awarding recognition, which makes demands without according rights or stability in return. In a world where the value of work is increasingly sidelined in the name of profit, this documentary reminds us that behind every service and everyday act are people with stories, dreams and dignity”.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Exhibition Competition

First Prize
Gina [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] - Ulrike Kofler (Austria)

Second Prize
Bitter Gold - Juan Olea (Germany/Uruguay/Chile)

Third Prize
Lazy Girls - Karim Dridi (France)

Best Director
Winter in Sokcho [+lee también:
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entrevista: Koya Kamura
ficha de la película] - Koya Kamura (France/South Korea)

Close-Up

CGIL Bergamo Prize for Best Documentary
Motherland - Miriam Pucitta (Switzerland/Germany)

“La sortie de l’usine” CGIL Prize
Dear Beautiful Beloved [+lee también:
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Special Mention
Personale [+lee también:
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entrevista: Carmen Trocker
ficha de la película] - Carmen Trocker (Italy/Austria)