Awards in Thessaloniki
The 19th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival were giving out awards a couple of days ago. The Danish production ”Dream Empire” by David Borenstein got the main prize, the Golden Alexander, with a Special Jury Award for the amazing ”Machines” by Rahul Jain from India.
An Amnesty Award for the best film in the Human Rights section was given to Raoul Peck’s masterpiece ”I am not Your Negro”. And the award in the name of late documentary guru Peter Wintonick was given to Zaradasht Ahmed for his Iraq film ”Nowhere to Hide”.
As motivation for the award to ”Dream Empire”, quote from festival site, ”The president of the jury, Mr Paul Pauwels, said that “we were captivated by this documentary because the story develops in an imaginative way: from a simple situation to a compellingly insightful journey to the global dynamic of a world in progress – or maybe in crisis? We appreciated the humour, the powerful character and the aesthetic, which make the film a delight for spectators, but also make them more sensitive towards serious issues that concern us all”.