The Balcony Movie (Poland) by Pawel Lozinski was named Best Film International in the International Competition for Feature/Medium-length docs at leading Brazilian doc fest It’s All True. The film sees the director interviewing passers-by from the balcony of his Warsaw apartment. This device enables him to capture unique takes on life and how we live it as individuals. The director also received approx $2,500.
In its citation the jury noted how the film “takes into consideration the mosaic of deep portraits of characters plucked from urban anonymity through a quirky and simple device that achieves surprising depth in its immersion into the personalities, fears and desires of its subjects. In addition to the lyricism of these characters, the originality of the narrative approach blends the simplicity of an ingenious idea with the Polish director Pawel Lozinski’s patient and sensitive listening.”
Ultraviolette and the Blood-Spitters Gang (France), by Robin Huzinger received an Honorary Mention.
The International Short Film Prize was won by How Do You Measure A Year? by Jay Rosenblatt (USA), who also received a prize of approximately $1250. The Jury citation highlighted “the originality of the idea, the effort that went into a 17-year production process, the control needed to ensure that this extended timeframe did not affect the aesthetic and language of the film, and the human content, expressed in the growth and transformation of the filmmaker’s infant daughter—and the film’s only character—into a young woman. The an-swers she gives to the same questions from her father year after year condense a very moving, direct and existential message. Over only 29 minutes, the baby becomes a woman, growing and changing before our very eyes.”
The jury awarded a Special Mention to Ali and His Miracle Sheep (Iraq/UK), by Maythem Ridha.
In Brazilian Feature/Medium-length Competition Out of Breath, directed by Anna Petta and Helena Petta, won Best Film and received approximately $4300 in prize money. The film takes a close look at the work of doctors, nurses, and other health professionals during the pandemic, and shows the human face behind the collective struggle against COVID-19.
The Jury wrote how, “it is more than just a hard-hitting and courageous x-ray of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. The directors managed to broaden our understanding of the humanitarian tragedy from various perspectives: the community agents working to prevent infections, the hospital ICUs, and, of course, the corpses bagged and buried in frightening numbers. It was all done with the very careful eye of those who know how to build and capture scenes that value the human feeling of the individuals portrayed.”
Symphony for a Common Man (Sinfonia de Um Homem Comum), by José Joffily, received an Honorary Mention for its engaging editing.
In Brazilian Short Film Competition Chants from a Holy Book by Cesar Gananian and Cassiana der Haroutiounian won Best Film, receiving approximately $2150 in prize money. The Jury citation underlined how, “coming from an original angle, the film broadens our understanding of the Velvet Revolution that occurred in Armenia in 2018. By adopting complementary simultaneous perspectives, the film shifts from the personal to the collective without losing direction. To achieve this, it adopts sophisticated, elegant, and highly effective narrative devices. It’s as though we’re watching the Velvet Revolution unfold from various points of view, and we can pick up on everything from the smallest everyday alternations to more complex changes in the spirit of the time. It also helps us understand a little better what’s going on in Ukraine today.”
Cadê Heleny? (Searching Heleny), directed by Esther Vital, received an Honorary Mention in the Brazilian Short Film Competition.
Recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the USA as a fast-track festival to the Oscars®, It’s All True winners in the Brazilian and International Feature/Medium-length and Short Film competitions automatically qualify for Oscar® contention in the Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Short categories.
“It was emotional for us, during this hybrid edition, to see the Festival reunited with cinema theaters, film teams and audiences,” said Amir Labaki, director of It’s All True, at the closing ceremony. “We hope that It’s All True 2022 can mark a safe and definitive in-person return of viewers to cinemas and onsite cultural events, of course in full compliance with pandemic-related health protocols.”
