15 Nov 2022 On the Screen MD 2022-4

Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic) 2022

At the 56th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival July 1-9, 2022, the Ecumenical Jury, appointed by INTERFILM and SIGNIS, awarded its Prize to A Provincial Hospital (Edna provintsialna bolnitsa) directed by Ilian Metev, Ivan Chertov, Zlatina Teneva, (Germany, Bulgaria, 2022).

Motivation: A powerful documentary set at a provincial hospital in western Bulgaria during the time of the Covid-pandemic.

In a very honest observation, the directors capture situational fragments depicting the full spectre of life. The jury appreciates how this film portrays the hospital staff’s ability to share their presence and hope, as well as to fulfil their duties with unique strength and even humour, despite the obstacles given by the hospital’s limitations and the suffering caused by the disease itself.

Members of the 2022 Jury: Annette Gjerde Hansen (Norway); Veronika Lišková (Czech Republic); Théo Péporté (Luxembourg).

Venice (Italy) 2022

At the 79th International Film Festival Venice – Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica 2022 – the 11th INTERFILM Award for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue went to Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale (still below).

In this film, a father is confined in his body, in his home and in his life. Seeking liberation, he is visited by characters who, while disgusted by his physical appearance, offer him different ways of surviving. The film powerfully portrays the fragility of human relationships and the possibility of forgiveness and salvation.

Members of the 2022 Jury: Alina Birzache (UK/Romania); Peter Ciacchio (Italy); Robert K. Johnston (USA); Jolyon Mitchell (President of the Jury, UK); Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati (Switzerland/Germany).

Locarno (Switzerland) 2022

At the 75th Locarno Film Festival (3-13 August 2022), the Ecumenical Jury of SIGNIS and INTERFILM awarded its Prize to the film Tales of the Purple House directed by Abbas Fahdel (Lebanon, Iraq, France, 2022).

The film gives us the personal and poetic perspective of an artist couple on the history and present day of a torn country. At the same time, it shows that everyday life goes on and that art and beauty play a part in it.

The jury awarded a Commendation to the film Tengo sueños eléctricos directed by Valentina Maurel (Belgium, France, Costa Rica, 2022).

The film follows the trajectory of a young teenager living in a family infused and shaken by break‐ups and violence, but also by love.

Members of the 2022 Ecumenical Jury: Anne Dagallier, France; Linde Fröhlich, Germany; Lukáš Jirsa, Czech Republic (President); Anne‐Béatrice Schwab, Switzerland.

Miskolc (Hungary) 2022

At the 18th Cinefest Miskolc (September 9-17, 2022), the Ecumenical Jury, appointed by INTERFILM and SIGNIS, awarded its Prize to Il buco (The Hole) directed by Michelangelo Frammartino (Italy, France, Germany, 2021).

The Ecumenical Jury chose to award a film that invites the viewer to reflect on the passing of time and the various spheres of creation. Its contemplative pace, the originality of its cinematic language, the strength of its aesthetics and the absence of words convey a poetic atmosphere. The experience becomes spiritual, though the story is based on a historical event and set in a specific geographical area, recounting an old shepherd’s departure from this world and, in a parallel manner, a young group’s exploration of the depths of the earth. The film empowers us to face our own fragility even as we long for eternity.

The members of the 2022 Jury: Susanne Birck, Germany; Inês Gil, Portugal; Zoltan Nevelős, Hungary; Kinga Szűcs, Hungary.

Leipzig (Germany) 2022

At the 65th International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film (17-23 October 2022), the Interreligious Jury, appointed by INTERFILM and SIGNIS, awarded its Prize, to the film Une vie comme une autre (A Life Like Any Other) directed by Faustine Cros (Belgium, France, 2022).

Motivation: A Life Like Any Other is a soulful and subtle movie about feminism where intimacy never disturbs the message, where the eye and the heart of the daughter never dominates the vision of the director. The movie deconstructs with virtuosity the seeming idyll of a family, how it is presented to us in old family video footage, through old family films and photos and recent interviews. The director makes visible the often overseen and disturbing reality of traditional motherhood.

The members of the 2022 Jury: Karin Becker, Germany; Jihane Bougrine, Morocco; Jacques Chameaux, France (President of the Jury); Nicola Galliner, Germany.