09 Sep 2009 Montreal 2009

Ceasefire was honoured with the Ecumenical Jury prize as the best competition film in the Montreal World Festival.  The prize was presented to director Lancelot von Naso (Germany) by Jury chairwoman Julia Laggner, an Austrian documentary film maker. Photo (right): The Ecumenical Jury at Montreal 2009 with director Lacelot von Naso and small cineaste (centre).

Iraq. A van travels on an isolated road connecting Baghdad to Fallujah. It is a few days after Easter, 2004. Until a 24-hour ceasefire was agreed to by both sides, U.S. forces and Iraqi Sunni fighters had engaged in a fierce battle for control of the city.The ceasefire would end at dawn. The van on the road to Fallujah is carrying five people with food and medical supplies for a small hospital in Fallujah. What the passengers will not know for several hours is that before the ceasefire, the U.S. had bombed the hospital…

The jury’s citation read ‘… Ceasefire deserves the Ecumenical prize because of its focus on human suffering in war … von Naso skillfully places the viewer directly into the situation of the protagonists  … Ceasefire is a timely film where the physical journey parallels the inner transformation of the characters …. The movie challenges the audience to examine their perspective on the consequences of war and our responsibility in the face of human suffering.’

The Ecumenical Jury gave a Special Mention to Korkoro (Freedom) directed by Tony Gatlif (France)