The Lesson wins the Luxembourg City Film Festival
by Vitor Pinto
- Other winners include Alexander Nanau’s documentary Toto and His Sisters and Raul Garcia's animated title Extraordinary Tales
The Bulgarian-Greek title The Lesson [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Val…
interview: Margita Gosheva
film profile], the debut fiction feature by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, has received the Grand Prix (worth €10,000) at the fifth Luxembourg City Film Festival, which was wrapped up on Saturday night with the screening of Donato Rotunno’s new Luxembourgish film, Baby(A)lone [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Donato Rotunno
film profile]. The competition jury was composed of Stéphane Bern, Morteza Farshbaf, Louise Monot, Désirée Nosbusch, Eithne O’Neill and Saïd Taghmaoui.
One of the titles on Wide Management's line-up, The Lesson follows the life of a small-town Bulgarian primary teacher as she tries anything to save her family’s home from being gobbled up by the bank.
The Documentary Prix went to Alexander Nanau’s Toto and His Sisters [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], an observational doc following three Roma children as they endure existential problems such as poverty, drugs and prison. The film is produced by Romania’s Strada Films, Alexander Nanau Production and HBO Europe. The documentary jury comprised Alain Esmery, Régis Latouche, Sabine Lubbe Bakker, Willy Perelsztejn and Niels Van Koevorden.
The Youth Prize went to Extraordinary Tales [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], an animated film based on Edgar Allan Poe's stories, directed by Raul Garcia and co-produced by Luxembourgish outfit Melusine Productions, while Secrets of War [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Dutch director Dennis Bots won the Children’s Prize (Coup de coeur des enfants).
The press gave its prize to Isa Qosja’s Three Windows and a Hanging [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arben Zharku
interview: Isa Qosja
film profile], while the Audience Award went to the Berlinale winner Taxi by Jafar Panahi.
According to the organisers, over 18,000 people attended the fifth edition of the festival, a record increase of 12% compared to last year; this rise was recorded primarily in the competition section.
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