The awards of the 30th Sarajevo FF were handed August 23 during the event’s closing ceremony. The Documentary Competition jury, comprising Mandy Chang (founder and Creative Director of Undeniable, Fremantle’s label, USA); Marek Hovorka (founder and Director of Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, Czech Republic), and Wang Xiaoshuai (director, writer and producer, China), gave the following awards:
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
A PICTURE TO REMEMBER (Ukraine, France, Germany)
Director: Olga Chernykh. The €4,000 prize was sponsored by the Government of Switzerland.
Synopsis: A PICTURE TO REMEMBER is an essayistic account of a family’s lengthy journey through wartime. It chronicles their search for a way to handle the terrible and recurring losses experienced by three generations of Ukrainian women – those of the director, her mother, and her grandmother. A moving exploration of identity, heritage, and the power of storytelling to connect us in times of upheaval.
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY FILM
LIKE A SICK YELLOW (Kosovo)
Director: Norika Sefa. Prize value: €2,000.
Synopsis: She was afraid of bad luck. They used to tell her, “Let your mind be peaceful; don’t put bad thoughts in your head; if it’s meant to be, it will be. That’s luck.” Nora was happy. She was afraid something might happen to change this.
HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD
YOUR LIFE WITHOUT ME (Hungary, Switzerland)
Director: Anna Rubi. The Human Rights Award is presented for the best film from the Competition Programme – Documentary Film that addresses human rights issues. The €3,000 prize was sponsored by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Synopsis: Magdi, a strong-willed, but lonely caregiver faces a daunting reality as she grows older: If she were to pass away, her disabled adult son, Feri would be left to the inhumane conditions of the Hungarian state care system, and would quickly follow her. Determined to secure a future for Feri, Magdi unites with a group of mothers who are in the same situation and they take legal action against the state. YOUR LIFE WITHOUT ME is a story of the strength and sacrifices of these women who find their own voice through the common fight and their community.
SPECIAL JURY AWARD
WHAT WE ASK OF A STATUE IS THAT IT DOESN’T MOVE (Greece, France)
Director: Daphné Hérétakis. Prize value: €2,500.
Synopsis: Nothing seems to be moving in Athens and the people are as still as statues. But, elsewhere in the city, a caryatid escapes the museum and a groupuscule demands the destruction of all antiquities. Perhaps filming is the only way to avoid turning into stone.
OTHER AWARDS
A separate jury comprising Dörte Schneider Garcia (editor, assistant director, and green consultant, Germany); Julian Ross (film programmer, researcher, and writer, the Netherlands), and Misan Sagay (screenwriter, UK) awarded the following:
SPECIAL ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS AWARD
THE SKY ABOVE ZENICA (Denmark, Bosnia and Herzegovina), directed by Zlatko Pranjić, Nanna Frank Møller. The €5,000 was sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme in BiH.
Synopsis: A quarter of the Bosnian city of Zenica is a giant steel plant. It is the largest employer in the area, and spews smoke day and night. Zenica has been deemed one of the world’s most polluted cities, with multiple occurrences of cancers, childhood diabetes, and respiratory diseases. Now, the citizens have had enough. They form the organisation Eko Forum and demand change but, like a Greek tragedy, the conflicts of interest are bigger than everyone involved.
SPECIAL AWARD FOR PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY
CENT’ANNI (Slovenia, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Austria) by Maja Doroteja Prelog.
The €7,500 prize was sponsored by Mastercard.
Synopsis: After surviving a terminal illness diagnosis, Blaž sets off on a gruelling celebratory Giro d’Italia. Tasked with capturing the triumphant biking tour is his partner, filmmaker Maja Doroteja Prelog,. What was initially planned as a ride from the Dolomites to Sicily to reclaim control of life and celebrate overcoming the greatest of fears soon becomes a journey of self-discovery for the couple. Things shift so that Maja’s experience and needs hold the focus of lens. While the camera turns inward, the relationship unravels, revealing a brave examination of self and what it truly means to be together. CENT’ANNI is an unfiltered testament to love and change; an emotional rollercoaster with heart-rending confessions and poetic visuals in the midst of beautiful natural scenery.
The 30th Sarajevo FF ran August 16- 23.
