29/08/2023 - The Dutch medium-length film has won the Award for Best Historical Documentary at the eighth edition of the festival that unspooled from 20-27 August on the island of Kastellorizo

Director Vera Iona Papadopoulou receiving her Special Odysseus Award for I Woke up Eighteen (© Beyond Borders)

The eighth Beyond Borders International Documentary Festival of Kastellorizo (Greece) drew to a close on Sunday 27 August, with an open-air ceremony (much like all of the screenings at this event), during which musical performances were combined with the usual handing out of awards. The Austrian medium-length film Scenes with My Father by Biserka Šuran won the Award for Best Historical Documentary in the main competition section, “for its creative innovation in the genres of history and autobiography, where a connection between father, daughter and audience transforms memories into personal healing, and takes risks that open our minds to the transformative potential of the art of documentary”, the jury said. The title also received the FIPRESCI Award.

The Best Social Documentary Award went to Audrey Napanangka by Penelope McDonald (Australia), and the Best Political Documentary Award was bestowed upon A Tale of Four Minorities by David Deri (Israel), in which four families offer their diverse insights into the ongoing frictions in their world, delving into what is right and what is wrong with Israeli society. In addition to the main competition prizes, the jury opted to hand a Special Mention to Underdog by Mariette Faber (Holland), while a second Special Mention was given to What Remains on the Way by Jakob Kress and Danilo Do Carmo (Germany/Brazil/Mexico).

The Best Greek Documentary Award was for Her Tobacco by Stathis Galazoulas and Eliza Kavalaraki: the film broadens our knowledge of women’s presence in Greek history and, at the same time, sheds light on the issue of female labour. Further to this, the #ThisisEU European Values Award of the Delegation of the European Commission in Greece, intended for the documentary that best promotes modern European values, went to The Hidden Children of Colonization by Dominique Regueme (France/Belgium). The film focuses on the tragic consequences of Belgian colonial policy in pre-revolutionary Congo, where the targeted segregation of thousands of mixed-race children fractured families and lives.

The Special Mediterranean Friendship Award was presented to the aforementioned A Tale of Four Minorities by David Deri, and the Special Odysseus Award (for the best documentary film in support of the work of Greek creators abroad) went to I Woke up Eighteen by Vera Iona Papadopoulou (Greece), as it broaches, with sensitivity and respect for human beings, the issue of unaccompanied minors – a result of the present waves of refugees and immigration.

The μicro Competition jury decided that the Golden Phoenix should go to the short film Will You Look at Me? by Shuli Huang (China), an intimate story on an extremely painful mother-son relationship, told in an almost radical, poetic way by using a Super 8 camera. The Silver Phoenix went to Scars by Alex Anna (Canada) because it combines a poetic diary and gentle cinematography to depict a mental disorder, drawing viewers into a seemingly beautiful but eventually very painful story. Finally, the Bronze Phoenix was granted to Bitter September by Sophia Farantatou (Switzerland), a moving, personal film about the infamous killing of the Greek drag performer Zak Kostopoulos.

Here is the full list of winners of the eighth Beyond Borders International Documentary Festival:

Official Competition

Best Historical Documentary
Scenes with My Father - Biserka Šuran (Austria, medium-length film)

Best Social Documentary
Audrey Napanangka - Penelope McDonald (Australia)

Best Political Documentary
A Tale of Four Minorities - David Deri (Israel)

Special Mentions
Underdog - Mariette Faber (Holland)
What Remains on the Way - Jakob Kress, Danilo Do Carmo (Germany/Brazil/Mexico)

Best Greek Documentary
Her Tobacco - Stathis Galazoulas, Eliza Kavalaraki (short film)

#ThisisEU European Values Award
The Hidden Children of Colonization - Dominique Regueme (France/Belgium, medium-length film)

Special Mediterranean Friendship Award
A Tale of Four Minorities - David Deri

Special Odysseus Award
I Woke up Eighteen - Vera Iona Papadopoulou (Greece, short film)

μicro section

Golden Phoenix
Will You Look at Me? – Shuli Huang (China, short film)

Silver Phoenix
Scars - Alex Anna (Canada, short film)

Bronze Phoenix
Bitter September - Sophia Farantatou (Switzerland, short film)

FIPRESCI Award
Scenes with My Father - Biserka Šuran