Mexican film, “On Childhood”, from director Carlos Carerra bested “Uninhabited” and “Monsters” to take home the Audience Award for Best International Feature Film at the 2010 Canberra International Film Festival in Canberra, Australia.
The festival described the film as “A visual masterpiece set in the slums of Mexico, this crime thriller sees a ghost help a young boy deal with the violent father he worships and fears.”
Ten-year-old Francisco is no innocent boy, growing up in the crime-ridden backstreets of Mexico City. As he experiences a series of nasty crimes at the hands of local gangs and his father, he is visited by the ghost of a boy shot dead by police – who has come to help make sure Francisco’s future doesn’t follow a similar path.
Blurring the lines between good and evil director Carlos Carrera (who made the Academy Award nominated THE CRIME OF PADRE AMARO) examines themes of death, sin and the afterlife in this dark and graceful thriller.
Bill Cunningham New York was the Audience Award winner for Best Documentary, besting Strange Birds in Paradise and Waste Land. Directed by Richard Press and featuring Bill Cunningham, Tom Wolfe, Anna Wintour, the film is described as “One of the most magical and moving personal portraits you’ll ever see, this film follows the legendary 80-year-old fashion photographer who is still spotting trends on the streets of New York.”
Starting life after WWII as a hat designer, Bill Cunningham took to photography by chance. Fifty years later, he’s become a reluctant icon of the fashion world and an accidental cultural anthropologist, documenting what really gets worn on the streets of New York. Living a monk-like existence in a tiny apartment and traveling on a worn-out bicycle, Cunningham lives only for the moment when beauty steps in front of his lens. Director Richard Press takes an intimate and sensitive look at an unencumbered and deeply private man, at the same time revealing a history of the fashion of a city.
Canberra International Film Festival which wrapped on Sunday, November 7, 2010, is a 12-day celebration of film showcasing an exceptional selection of feature films and documentaries from around the world plus the best Australian new releases and retrospectives.
source: Canberra International Film Festival