ZagrebDox Awards 2014

I have copy pasted the list of winners from the website of the  festival, that cleverly brings forward the jury motivations as well. The following films have been written about/reviewed on filmkommentaren: The Last Station, Return to Homs, Ne Me Quitte Pas, Stories We Tell.   

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

International Jury
Damir Čučić, director and editor
Jean-Pierre Rehm, FIDMarseille managing director
Josh Gibson, director

BIG STAMP FOR THE BEST INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION FILM

THE LAST STATION
dir. Cristian Soto & Catalina Vergara, Chile

The jury is pleased to award the Zagreb Dox Big Stamp Award to “The Last Station”. In quiet dignity this film reveals the lives of those discarded by society and their families. But the elderly become not so much the subject as the metabolism of the film. The rhythms of their lives pulse through and render the filmic world.  Sounds are alchemized into forgotten memories. The jury would like to congratulate the filmmakers for finding the nuanced frequency and pacing that permits us to experience the humanity at the end of life.

Special Mentions

RETURN TO HOMS
dir. Talal Derki, Syria, Germany

It’s in the human nature to leave and to return to our hometowns, but to constantly keep returning to madness of a town caught up in war is an especially courageous act. Striving for freedom can sometimes get euphoric and close to a romantic rapture, even if the price we pay is death. The courage which the protagonists, cameramen and director embedded in the film “Return to Homs” is unutterable. With their devotion to the idea of freedom, they showed us that nothing in this world is impossible.

NE ME QUITTE PAS
dir. Niels van Koevorden & Sabine Lubbe Bakker, Netherlands, Belgium

For its impressive ability to dive into the lives of its characters, for its subtle

way to constantly shift from comedy to pathos, for the time the film allowed itself to take and to share with us, the jury wishes to give a special mention to “Ne me quitte pas”..

REGIONAL COMPETITION

Regional Jury
Charlie Phillips, Sheffield Doc/Fest deputy director
Ryan Harrington, documentary section head at the Tribeca Film Institute
Youlian Tabakov, director

BIG STAMP FOR THE BEST REGIONAL COMPETITION FILM

SACRO GRA
dir. Gianfranco Rosi, Italy

This example of master filmmaking feels almost perfect, exploring how diverse parts of humanity deal with daily existence. Beautifully crafted, the filmmaking shows real skill – and the filmmaker’s hand is always present, contemplative and humanising those on screen.

Special Mentions

LIFE ALMOST WONDERFUL
dir. Svetoslav Draganov, Bulgaria, Belgium

With brilliant characters that feel almost fictional, this family story proves that even in the most trying periods of our lives, life goes on. We identified with this inspiring story of being able to face life, and its demonstration that no matter how different you grow from your family, you can always come back together.

STREAM OF LOVE
dir. Ágnes Sós, Hungary

This film approaches the topics of love, sexual identity, human closeness and sexual health from a new and fresh angle focusing on the elderly, with reflections that feel light and fresh. The film allows us to relate to a serious topic through a cheerful and new tone.

BEST FILM BY A YOUNG FILMMAKER UP TO THE AGE OF 35

Young Jury
Marcel Łozinski, director and head of the Documentary Film Department at Andrzej Wajda Film School
Ivana Mladenović, director
Lidija Špegar, director

Small Stamp for the best film by a filmmaker below the age of 35

THE SPECIAL NEED
dir. Carlo Zoratti, Germany, Italy, Austria

“Special Need” is a film in which the director managed to portray a piece of life of an autisticc person but without even a slightest touch of bad taste. With humour, easy-goingness and sensibility for the protagonist, it reveals the universal need of human beings – to be loved.

Special Mentions

STORIES WE TELL
dir. Sarah Polley, Canada

A brave search for the truth sabotaged by overlapping family members’ stories. Crossing the boundaries of genre, the director is trying to separate lies from the truth in her own family.

PATIO
dir.  Aly Muritiba, Brasil

A film of outstanding minimalist directing, triggering emotions and thoughts about space, time, capitvity and freedom.

Movies That Matter Award

Movies That Matter Jury
Sanja Sarnavka, president of the women’s association B.a.B.e.
Ed Moschitz, director
Veton Murkollari, DokuFest art director

The jury would like to praise the festival for excellent selection of films that touched upon many aspects of human rights. This inevitably made the decision process difficult for us and therefore we have decided to give two special mentions, in addition to a main award.

The film that best promotes human rights

PIPELINE
dir. Vitaly Mansky, Russia, Czech Republic, Germany

By documenting lives of ordinary people living along one the biggest European projects, we are slowly faced with many of its paradoxes. Polluted rivers offering dead fish, strange golden statues reminiscent of communist era and widespread poverty on one side are interwoven with images of wealth on the other side. A line from the film superbly paraphrases the essence of this great piece of documentary filmmaking; “For countries in transition democracy means poverty”. The Movies That Matter award goes to the film “Pipeline” by Vitaly Mansky.

Special Mentions

RETURN TO HOMS
dir. Talal Derki, Germany, Sirya

The first special mention goes to a film that put us directly into the horror of urban civil war and that shocked us with its brutality. We were devastated to see transformation of young people, full of hopes and dreams for better future, into ruthless warriors, as war progresses and as they feel forgotten by the rest of the world. With hope that film like this help conflict comes to an end and freedom comes to Syria, we are giving special mention to the film “Return to Homs” by Talal Derki.

4th MONKEY
dir. Hrvoje Mabić, Croatia

The second special mention goes to a film that successfully reveals a scandal, which was kept secret for long time from public opinion in Croatia. By using simple investigative techniques the director is able to shed light to major abuse of human rights in psychiatric hospital, both by its managing stuff as well as people from city government. An important film, in the wake of controversy surrounding the withdrawal of another film at ZagrebDox dealing with similar topic. The second special mention goes to the film 4 Monkey by Hrvoje Mabic. 

Teen Dox Award

Teen Dox Jury
Students of the First Private High School in Zagreb

WITH OPEN EYES
dir. Erik Bafving, Sweden

14 minutes, 20 persons and a child, the most complex emotions through the pure simplicity of photographs. This film touched and moved us, awoke the most beautiful, painful and sincere emotions in us, and hopefully you too. We believe everyone could identify with these beautiful 14 minutes. All of us at one point wondered: „Who am I really?“

Special Mentions

THE RED CARPET
dir. Manuel Fernandez & Losu Lopez, Spain

In a time we live in we want more and better from life: luxury and glamour, but our souls are empty. Marginalised children showccase their extraordinary ability to feel fullness in love, happiness and the sense of community. This film will make everyone realise how little is enough for happiness. Each of the 12 minutes is a moral in itself.

PHONE DOX AWARD

Phone Dox Jury
Ana Hušman, video artist
Andrej Korovljev, director
Tomislav Jelinčić, director

LIVING WITH LEVIATHAN
dir. Şirin Bahar Demirel, Turkey

Filmmaker Şirin Bahar Demirel compiled personal moments of the participants of the Turkish protests in an intimate and idiosyncratic way to sublimate the individual experiences in this turbulent historical moment. The public space of Istanbul’s streets and squares through the personal lens of the protesters becomes a stage for small people’s intimate dramas which, through actions and experiences, become part of the collective history.

MY GENERATION AWARD

FATHER AND SON ON A JOURNEY
dir. Marcel Łoziński, Poland

The Award is presented by ZagrebDox founder and director Nenad Puhovski

It is not easy to be a child. Nor a young person. Carrying the traumas of the world we are growing up in, including those coming from the environment that is supposed to protect us – our own family. Cutting the motional umbilical cord is almost always difficult and painful. However, it is not easy to be a parent. Especially a father. Expectations are often greater than possibilities and knowledge about failed chances always arrive too late. Facing them, therefore, is almost always equally painful and hard. But there are hundreds of fiction and documentary films about the coming-of-age traumas, even an entire sub-genre, documentaries about the problems of parents, especially fathers, are few and far between. Therefore, the My Generation Award this year goes to the Polish documentary master Marcel Łoziński for his outstanding film “Father and Son on a Journey”, in which he honestly, gently and ruthlessly on himself analyses his relationship with his son, also a renowned documentarian, Pavel.

ZAGREBDOX PRO AWARDS

HBO Adria Award for Best Pitch

TCHINDAS
dir. Marc Serena, Pablo García Pérez de Lara, Spain

ZagrebDox Pro Award fo Best Project

IN SEARCH OF A LOST COUNTRY
dir. Marija Ratković Vidaković, Croatia
 
The Sheffield Doc/Fest Marketplace Award

IN SEARCH OF A LOST COUNTRY
dir. Marija Ratković Vidaković, Croatia