The winning films of the 41st International Film Festival Rotterdam were announced at the IFFR 2012 Awards Ceremony. The three Hivos Tiger Awards were granted to feature débuts EGG AND STONE by Huang Ji (China), THURSDAY TILL SUNDAY by Dominga Sotomayor (Chile/Netherlands) and CLIP by Maja Miloš (Serbia), which also took the KNF Award of the Dutch film critics.
NEIGHBOURING SOUNDS by Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil) took the FIPRESCI Award and Chinese film SENTIMENTAL ANIMAL by Wu Quan was awarded by the NETPAC Jury.
The three winners of the equal Hivos Tiger Awards 2012 are:
KLIP (CLIP) by Maja Miloš (Serbia, 2012)
‘A vigorous, rebellious, authentic, honest and revealing film using modern means to depict in a punchy way the mobile generation, who capture their lives through images recorded on their phones. An emotionally disturbed main character in a fractured family, within a broken society. KLIP provokes many questions and gives no answers.’
DE JUEVES A DOMINGO (THURSDAY TILL SUNDAY) by Dominga Sotomayor (Chile/Netherlands, 2012)
‘In focus, this film is a very precise and gentle depiction of the intimate space of a family. We are captured in a journey seen through a child’s perspective, and recall the moments of our own childhood, at the same time experiencing and understanding all the complexities that adult life entails. The minimalistic story is revealed through the fresh angles of the camerawork. A gentle piece, rich with sensitive observations.’
JIDAN HE SHITOU (EGG AND STONE) by Huang Ji (China, 2012)
‘The director creates a sensation by telling the private story of a girl who unwillingly becomes trapped in a life in the margins. The taboo present in the film is broken by means of poetic language. The director does so with a convincing author’s approach and sensitive direction of non-professional actors. The beautifully framed, conscious choice of camerawork is relevant to storytelling, and unveils human secrets.’
NETPAC Award
The NETPAC Jury (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) awards the best Asian film in IFFR 2012 Official Selection.
The winner of the NETPAC Award 2012 is:
SENTIMENTAL ANIMAL by Wu Quan (China, 2011)
‘For employing innovative visual and narrative construction to cultivate a poignant cinematic style, thereby creating a subtle metonymy about the power structure and tension-ridden human relationships in Chinese society today.’
SENTIMENTAL ANIMAL had its international premiere in the Bright Future-section for first or second time filmmakers of the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012.
FIPRESCI Award
The Jury of the international association of film critics FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique) awards the best film in the Tiger Awards Competition.
The winner of the Rotterdam FIPRESCI Award 2012 is:
O SOM AO REDOR (NEIGHBOURING SOUNDS) by Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil, 2012)
‘For evoking an atmosphere of paranoia and menace through a highly ambitious use of sound and cinematography the winner is NEIGHBOURING SOUNDS.’
KNF Award
The Jury of the Circle of Dutch film journalists KNF (Kring van Nederlandse Filmjournalisten) awards the best film from a selection of IFFR 2012-titles that have not yet been acquired for Dutch distribution.
From the selected films, the KNF Jury nominated three films: NANA by Valérie Massadian (France) from Bright Future and the competing films KLIP by Maja Miloš (Serbia) and SUDOESTE by Eduardo Nunes (Brazil).
The winner of the KNF Award 2012 is:
KLIP (CLIP) by Maja Miloš (Serbia, 2012)
‘The winning film is a daring and stunning debut, portraying an abandoned Serbian post-war generation. Its talented young director succeeds in constructing a brutal portrait using the pervasive and uninhibited visual language of the cell phone generation. It shows teens obsessively identifying with video clips, glorifying sex and violence and turning themselves into victims of pornofication. Though confronting, disturbing and explicit, KLIP skilfully succeeds in avoiding the trap of exploitation.
We really hope a Dutch distributor will show the same courage as Maja Miloš did in making this film.’
KLIP saw its world premiere in the Tiger Awards Competition 2012.
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