A total of 14 awards – offering financial support, mentoring, festival exposure and international networking opportunities – were handed out to the most outstanding documentary projects from this year’s East Doc Platform programme during the event’s closing ceremony, which took place on 24 March at the French Institute in Prague.

The Golden Funnel for the most significant development over the yearlong session, granted to one team participating in the Ex Oriente Film workshop and one participating in the Ex Oriente Series workshop (and worth €1,000 each), went respectively to Children of the Moon Land by Roman Ďuriš, and World Divided by Soňa Nôtová and Štefan Straka. The former received the prize because “the director demonstrates a rare, high-level ability to elevate documentary observation into a ‘magical’ visual experience”; the second because it was deemed a “unique series” developed “with openness and bravery, and challenging the conventions of serial storytelling”.

The Ex Oriente Fine Cut Award, which consists of rough-cut consultations with renowned film editors, valued at €2,000, was handed to I Had a Dream About an Elephant by Štefan Straka, for “its compelling and satirical yet documentary exploration”. The event’s belief is that “this editing support will provide the necessary touch to balance out its complex narrative layers and deliver a powerful, provocative cinematic experience”.

The Cut Thru the Noise Award (which grants tailor-made consultancy regarding the project's release, distribution and festival strategy, to the tune of €1,500) was given to I Was Told to Save the World by Hana Piscevic and Nebojša Resanović: the jury appreciated “the humour with which the characters are treated, while facing the hardest times”. The project also won the Pitch the Doc Prize “for its empathy and its honest look” at the bonds between humans and animals.

Another two accolades went to House in a Bottle by Anna Morawiec, which scooped the DAE Talent Encouragement Award (“Regardless of the different journey, this kind of pain travels in many families until the silence is broken. This project depicts this from a courageous, beautiful, personal and collective place”) as well as the Baltic Sea Docs Award, as it is “a thoughtfully and creatively developed project on a topic that resonates all too widely”.

Not So Far Away Places by Renato Borrayo Serrano and Yulia Vishnevets won the Czech Television Award (comprising a CZK 150,000, or €6,142, licence fee) for providing “a unique insight into the contemporary Russian repressive system”, while nava mama by Ana Vijdea received the HBO Award (€2,000) in order “to encourage the team to further develop the film and to find a clear, confident direction in shaping this delicate narrative into a bold and resonant cinematic work”.

The DocsBarcelona Pro Award went to EL DORADO by Rati Oneli because, “with its evocative power, the project draws us into a dreamlike inner world shaped by memory and time”. Meanwhile, the Docs Up Fund Award (€2,000 for human-rights-focused projects) was handed to Crossing Oxus by Svitlana Lishchynska, as “the work explores how war and violence permeate the family unit, and all of society, with the return of combatants to civilian life”.

The DOK Leipzig DOK Co-Pro Market Award went to Two of Us by Juratė Samulionytė, “for its profound portrayal of love, resilience and dignity”; the East-West Talent Lab Award to Dance with Me by Leila Basma, “an important film about identity, belonging and acceptance”; and the Sheffield DocFest Networking Award to Stitch by Stitch by Alina Baitokova, “a film that poignantly tackles the systemic issues facing divorced women forced into difficult labour and often separated from their children”.

Finally, the Silver Eye Award – handed out the day before, 23 March, during a separate ceremony – was given to the short film Inside by Dorota Vlnová, “for its innovative and poetic approach to the highly political topic of abortion rights”, with a Special Mention awarded to Animals of the East by Anna Ďurišíková and Andrej Kolenčík, “for its focus on empathy and care as a powerful counterpoint to today’s narratives of strength and aggression”.

Here is the full list of award winners:

The Golden Funnel (for features)
Children of the Moon Land - Roman Ďuriš (Slovakia/Czech Republic)
Producer: Richard Šimeček
Co-producer: Michal Sikora

The Golden Funnel (for series)
World Divided - Soňa Nôtová, Štefan Straka (Slovakia)
Producer: Richard Chudý

Ex Oriente Fine Cut Award
I Had a Dream About an Elephant - Štefan Straka (Slovakia)
Producer: Mátyás Prikler

Cut Thru the Noise Award
I Was Told to Save the World - Hana Piscevic, Nebojša Resanović (Serbia/Croatia)
Producer: Savina Smederevac

Czech Television Award
Not So Far Away Places - Renato Borrayo Serrano, Yulia Vishnevets (France)
Producers: Vlad Ketkovich, Milana Christich, Albin Bourgeois

HBO Award
nava mama - Ana Vijdea (Romania/France)
Producers: Ana Gheorghe, Ana Vijdea
Co-producer: Louis Beaudemont

DocsBarcelona Pro Award
EL DORADO - Rati Oneli (Georgia/France/Estonia)
Producer: Rati Oneli
Co-producers: Valérianne Boué, Marianna Kaat

The Docs Up Fund Award
Crossing Oxus - Svitlana Lishchynska (Ukraine/Sweden)
Producer: Olga Gibelinda
Co-producer: Fredrik Lange

DOK Leipzig DOK Co-Pro Market Award
Two of Us - Juratė Samulionytė (Lithuania)
Producers: Dagne Vildziunaite, Danielė Kunčinaitė

DAE Talent Encouragement Award
House in a Bottle - Anna Morawiec (Poland)
Producer: Agata Jujeczka

Pitch the Doc Prize
I Was Told to Save the World - Hana Piscevic, Nebojša Resanović

Baltic Sea Docs Award
House in a Bottle - Anna Morawiec

East-West Talent Lab Award
Dance with Me - Leila Basma (Czech Republic/France/Germany/Lebanon)
Producer: Natalia Pavlove
Co-producers: Christian Eid, Marisa Meier, Baptiste Bertin

Sheffield DocFest Networking Award
Stitch by Stitch - Alina Baitokova (Estonia/Kyrgyzstan)
Producers: Marianna Kaat, Adilet Karzhoev

Silver Eye Award
Inside - Dorota Vlnová (Slovakia/Croatia, short film)
Producer: Roman Pivovarník
Co-producer: Katarina Prpić

Special Mention
Animals of the East - Anna Ďurišíková, Andrej Kolenčík (Slovakia)
Producer: Andrej Kolenčík