On June 1 during the official award ceremony of the 24th Docaviv, Diem Ha Le’s Children of the Mist took home the Best International Film Award, valued at 20,000 ILS.
The debut film tells the compelling story of a bold teenage girl from the Hmong community in North Vietnam, caught between the cruel tradition of kidnapping girls for the purpose of marriage and her wish to continue her childhood and go to school. The jury stated: “With a clear eye and open heart, maturity, sensitivity, and without compromising the craft of her filmmaking, Diem Ha Le gives life to a truly unique yet universal and political real-life story. Her colorful and vivid photography, combined with the intelligent editing makes Children of the Mis” the stand-out film of this year’s International Competition.”
Fragile Memory by Igor Ivanko, a portrait of the filmmakers’ grandfather and acclaimed USSR cinematographer in Odessa Leonid Burlake, received an Honorable Mention for its “fresh, and humble approach”, making it a “surprising film, a moving story about the capacity of cinema to commemorate life”.
The festival’s biggest award, the Frank Lowy Award for the Best Israeli Film (70,000 ILS), was handed to Itamar Alcalay and Meital Zvieli for The Camera of Dr. Morris, a bittersweet portrait about Dr. Morris, his family, and crocodile Clarence, who grew up in their garden. A local celebrity in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, the UK-born doctor filmed his family for decades – the births and deaths, joys and tragedies, dramas and quiet days spent in the sun. Years after his death, the forgotten tapes were found, retelling a story of this extraordinary family, who are just as ordinary as everyone else. The jury called it an “expression of pure cinema,” stating how, “from bringing vividly and vibrantly to life one family and one place, we are able to see how the joy, sorrow and intensity of everyday life quietly intertwines itself around an alternative pioneer spirit within Israel. This is the magic of cinema and this film gave the jury members a truly magical experience.”
In the Short Film Competition, In Flow of Words by Eliane Esther Bots about the interpreters at an international war crime tribunal won the Best Short Film Award (4,000 ILS) for being a film which “manages to convey an immersive experience about words that go through people and affect them for life.” Geamăna by Matthäus Wörle received an Honorable Mention.
40 Steps by Gad Aisen and Manor Birman was given the Beyond the Screen Award in honour of Docaviv founder Ilana Tsur (10,000 ILS). In 40 Steps an orthodox school in southern Tel Aviv is divided in half for a new secular elementary school. In a shared playground, both schools must co-exist, while the identity of different communities are put to the test.
The Artistic Vision Award (10,000 ILS) in the Depth of Field Competition went to Gods of Mexico by Helmut Dosantos, an almost religious aesthetic and sensory experience about Mexican laborers on salt flats and in ore mines.
Docaviv is one of the Academy Award qualifying documentary film festivals, making the winners of the International Competition, Israeli competition and Short Competition eligible for the Oscars. The Best Israeli Film is also eligible for a 100,000 ILS marketing grant for an Academy Award Campaign.
