At the closing awards ceremony of Visions du Réel 2021 the following prizes were presented:
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize offered by la Mobilière, CHF 20 000
Faya Dayi by Jessica Beshir
Citation: Interweaving an ancient Sufi parable about the quest for the water of eternal life with a rigorous meditation on labour, exploitation and exile, and moving freely among different levels of reality and consciousness, Jessica Beshir has created a dream-like fable for our own uncertain times.
Special Jury Award offered by Région de Nyon, CHF 10 000
1970 by Tomasz Wolski, CHF 5 000
Les Enfants terribles by Ahmet Necdet Cupur, CHF 5 000
Citation: The Special Jury Award offered by Région de Nyon goes ex aequo to Les Enfants Terribles by Ahmet Necdet Cupu, an intimate yet universally resonant chronicle of a tragic family quarrel, and to 1970 by Tomasz Wolski for its imaginative and gripping response to a watershed event in Poland’s struggle towards democracy.
Burning Lights Competition
Prize in the Burning Lights Competition, CHF 10 000
Looking for Horses by Stefan Pavlović
Citation : This film grows organically out of an encounter, defining its own set of rules and becoming an actual ground of transformation involving both the filmmaker and his subject. The filmmaker finds the poetic expression in a natural way working with raw images and sounds, to elaborate a sincere reflection on language, identity and trauma.
Special Jury Award, CHF 5 000
Splinters by Natalia Garayalde
Citation: This intimate tale from the past is a powerful timely and universal cry against injustice and greed. Starting filming as a child, with surprising vision and sharp humor, and staying loyal to the project for decades, the filmmaker carries the responsibility of celebrating the memory of her beloved ones, and giving voice to a community victim of an outrageous political crime.
Special Mention
The Great Void by Sebastian Mez
Citation: A special mention goes to a film from the future, about a present for which we don’t yet have images.
NATIONAL COMPETITION
Prize in the National Competition, CHF 15 000
Nostromo by Fisnik Maxville
Citation: The jury is honoured to award a film that tells of the encounter between men of different fates, at the ends of the world. Referring to the historical dialogue between European settlers and indigenous populations, this piece of observational filmmaking builds a strong atmosphere, which invites us to a uniquely cinematic experience.
Special Jury Award in the National Competition, CHF 10 000
Chronicles of That Time, by Maria Iorio and Raphaël Cuomo
Citation: For this artwork’s outstanding approach portraying the Mediterranean Sea, at first a shared space between continents that now becomes myth through museum mosaics and their official narrative. Intertwined with the contemporary stories of people in shades, fragments of history and glitched images remind us of our incomplete memory.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIUM LENGTH AND SHORT FILM COMPETITION
Prize – Medium Length, CHF 10 000
Strict Regime, by Nikita Yefimov
Citation: An intelligent film that problematizes the representation of power in the documentary form, sincerely exposing the bureaucratic obstacles, formal limits and human conditions for its realization. Its director has created a transparent and honest work, which portrays, while questioning with humor and talent, the idea of discipline as the only form of redemption.
Special Mention Medium Length
My Quarantine Bear, by Weijia Ma
A film that tenderly depicts a massive global tragedy. With a great talent for improvisation, this young director has created an intimate document of these chaotic times.
Prize – Short Film, CHF 5 000
The Communion of My Cousin Andrea by Brandán Cerviño
For a sensitive and honest conversation with a child about the World and God. For having the creative courage to share with humor the mise en scène of the film. For a lovely smile and a mischievous look. For a movie that helps to live.
Prize – Short Film offered by Mémoire Vive, CHF 2 500
If You See Her, Say Hello by Hee Young Pyun and Jiajun Oscar Zhang
A film that travels in time and space. A sensitive exploration towards reminiscences and personal memories in a country that often seems unfathomable. A beautiful film that shows that it is possible to find in the past images of the future.
Special Mention Short Film
The City of the Sun, by Maria Semenova
An approach on the lights and shadows of a staged dogma. In a territory dominated by the white clarity of Siberia, the director manages to capture with patience and mystery the complex darkness of sectarianism.
Youth Jury Award – Medium Length Film, CHF 5 000
Trees in Summer, by Suyu Lee
International Critics Award – FIPRESCI Award
Faya Dayi, by Jessica Beshir
Citation: For creating a contemplative but also deeply personal and poetic portrait of the people from Harar, approaching and giving voice to a silenced community and getting the perfect balance between the dreamlike images, the spirituality, and the story itself.
Interreligious Award, CHF 5000
Little Palestine (Diary of a Siege), by Abdallah Al-Khatib
Citation: People in the sealed-off Yarmuk refugee camp assert their humanity in the Syrian civil war despite hunger and lack of prospects, while the humanitarian world remains on the sidelines. When a small street choir sings to piano accompaniment and the noise of bombs, their song joins the sad chorale of similar sieges in world history.
Zonta Award: Prize for a female filmmaker whose work reveals mastery and talent and calls for support for future creations. CHF 5000.
Pushing Boundaries, by Lesia Kordonets
Citation : Zonta is an international club that supports the cause of women. The jury, after an arduous deliberation, as the quality of the films was excellent, retained a strong, bold film, whose powerful and rigorous construction shows the human resilience in the face of the absurdity of war.
