All Cats Are Grey in The Dark by Lasse Linder
Moderated by British producer, festival director and EFA Board Member Mike Goodridge, the December 10 round of EFAs at Eight announced documentary winners in the European Short Film, European University Film Award (EUFA) and EURIMAGES Co-Production Award categories.
On December 9 outgoing EFA President Wim Wenders and Director Marion Döring handed out the Excellence Awards, two of which were won by creatives working on documentary projects.
European Short Film winner: All Cats Are Grey in The Dark. Written and directed by Lasse Linder.
Switzerland, 2019, documentary, 19 min. Produced by Edith Flückiger
The category was voted on by the more than 3,800 EFA Members. The short film selection and nomination procedure is organised by the European Film Academy and EFA Productions in co-operation with 24 film festivals throughout Europe. This year’s winner was the Sarajevo Film Festival candidate.
European University Film Award 2020: Saudi Runaway. Written and directed by Regina Meures
Switzerland, 2020, documentary, 88 mins. Produced by Christian Frei.
The award is presented by university students from across Europe. The nominated films have been viewed and discussed in 25 universities in 25 countries and each institution selected its favourite film.
Eurimages Co-production Award 2020: Luís Urbano, Portugal
Since 2005, Luís Urbano has produced many films by renowned directors such as Miguel Gomes, João Nicolau, Sandro Aguilar, Salomé Lamas and Manoel de Oliveira. Recent documentaries he has produced include Viveiro (2019), Il Sogno Mio d’Amore (2018), Extinction (2018) and Eldorado XXII (2016).
Excellence Award in European Editing 2020: Maria Fantastica Valmori for Once More Unto the Breach (Italy, 2019), directed by Federico Ferrone, Michele
Manzolini (awarded December 9)
Citation: This documentary is considerably indebted to the editing. It consists almost entirely of grainy black and white archive film and each shot has been chosen with great care. Maria Fantastica Valmori skilfully edits the images of a train travelling across Europe towards the frontline and pictures of comrades-in-arms with scenes of past happiness but also death and destruction in a war-torn Europe. The archive used, no doubt chosen from many hours of material both amateur and professional, is absolutely vital in telling the film’s story.
Excellence Award in European Sound 2020: Yolande Decarsin for Little Girl (France/Denmark, 2020), directed by Sébastien Lifshitz (awarded
December 9)
Citation: Yolande Decarsin’s sound design in the documentary Little Girl achieves something that is almost impossible: Very gently and delicately, it takes you into the life of little Sasha and her family. You no longer feel as if you are watching something from the outside but as if you were there as the kids get ready for school, sitting with them in their garden, or joining them for lunch.
The eight-member Excellence Awards jury had convened online and decided on the winners in the categories of European Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Make-up & Hair, Original Score, Sound, and Visual Effects. All winners, click here.
The Excellence Awards jury members were:
Marta Billingsley, sound editor, Italy
John Gürtler, composer, Germany
Rein Kotov, cinematographer, Estonia
Catherine Marchand, costume designer, Belgium
Jonathan Morris, editor, UK
Anne Cathrine Sauerberg, make-up designer, Denmark
Andraž Sedmak, visual effects, Slovenia
Sylvia Steinbrecht, production designer, Andorra
