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  • 2017 Sarajevo Film Festival Awards: SCARY MOTHER Wins Heart of Sarajevo for Best Film

    [caption id="attachment_23921" align="aligncenter" width="960"]HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST FEATURE FILM SCARY MOTHER, 2017 SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST FEATURE FILM SCARY MOTHER, 2017 SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL[/caption] The Georgia film Scary Mother directed by Ani Urushadze, was awarded the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Film at the 2017 Sarajevo Film Festival. In the film, Manana, a 50-year-old housewife, struggles with a dilemma – she has to choose between her family life and her passion for writing, which she has repressed for years. She decides to follow her passion and plunges herself into writing, sacrificing everything to it, both mentally and physically. The award for Best Documentary went to City of the Sun, directed by Rati Oneli.  City of the Sun portrays a few of the remaining inhabitants of the mining city of  Chiatura, in western Georgia. Up to 50 percent of the world’s manganese, a vital metal across the globe, used to be mined here, but today, it resembles an apocalyptic ghost town. Music teacher Zurab dismantles ramshackle concrete buildings by hand and sells the iron girders to make some money on the side. Archil still works in the mine, but his real passion is the local amateur theatre group. Despite being malnourished, two young female athletes train stoically for the next Olympic Games. Actor and comedian John Cleese, best known as a member of the famous comedy team Monty Python’s Flying Circus, received the honorary lifetime achievement award. “I accept it not as a film person, but more as a comedian because I think at this time in world history, we’ve never needed comedians more,” Cleese said.

    2017 Sarajevo Film Festival Awards

    COMPETITION PROGRAM – FEATURE FILM

    HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST FEATURE FILM SCARY MOTHER / SASHISHI DEDA Georgia, Estonia Director: Ana Urushadze Producer: Lasha Khalvashi HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST DIRECTOR EMANUEL PÂRVU MEDA OR THE NOT SO BRIGHT SIDE OF THINGS / MEDA SAU PARTEA NU PREA FERICITĂ A LUCRURILOR Romania SPECIAL JURY MENTION DIRECTIONS / POSOKI Bulgaria, Germany, Macedonia Director: Stephan Komandarev HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST ACTRESS Ornela Kapetani, DAYBREAK / DITA ZË FILL HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST ACTOR Şerban Pavlu, MEDA OR THE NOT SO BRIGHT SIDE OF THINGS / MEDA SAU PARTEA NU PREA FERICITĂ A LUCRURILOR 

    COMPETITION PROGRAM – SHORT FILM

    HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST SHORT FILM INTO THE BLUE / U PLAVETNILO Croatia, Slovenia Director: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović Financial Award, in the amount of 2.500 €. SPECIAL JURY MENTION SOA Montenegro Director: Dušan Kasalica SPECIAL JURY MENTION COPA – LOCA Greece Director: Christos Massalas

    COMPETITION PROGRAM – STUDENT FILM

    HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST STUDENT FILM CLEAN / ČISTOĆA Bosnia and Herzegovina Director: Neven Samardžić SPECIAL JURY MENTION LJUBLJANA – MÜNCHEN 15:27 / LJUBLJANA – MUNICH 15:27 Slovenia Director: Katarina Morano

    COMPETITION PROGRAM – DOCUMENTARY FILM

    HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM CITY OF THE SUN / MZIS QALAQI Georgia, USA, Qatar, Netherlands Director: Rati Oneli SPECIAL JURY PRIZE FOR COMPETITION PROGRAM DOCUMENTARY FILM KINDERS Austria Directors: Arash T. Riahi, Arman T. Riahi SPECIAL JURY MENTION HOME / DOM Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina Director: Zdenko Jurilj HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD MR. GAY SYRIA Turkey, France, Germany Director: Ayse Toprak Best film of the Competition Programme – Documentary Film dealing with the subject of human rights.

    HONORARY HEART OF SARAJEVO

    John Cleese, Actor Oliver Stone, Director

    CINELINK AWARDS

    CINELINK CO-PRODUCTION MARKET AWARDS EURIMAGES COPRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT AWARD HALF-SISTER Director: Damjan Kozole Writers: Damjan Kozole, Urša Menart Producer: Danijel Hočevar Production company: Vertigo Slovenia MACEDONIAN FILM AGENCY CINELINK AWARD HOLY EMY Director: Araceli Lemos Writers: Araceli Lemos, Gulia Caruso Producers: Elina Psykou, Giulia Caruso, Konstantinos Vassilaros Production company: StudioBauhaus Greece ARTE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS CINELINK AWARD CAT IN THE WALL Directors: Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova Writer: Mina Mileva Producers: Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova Production company: Activist38 Bulgaria SPECIAL MENTION THE GREAT TRAM ROBBERY Director: Slobodan Šijan Writers: Slobodan Šijan, Biljana Maksić, Vladimir Mančić Producer: Marko Paljić Production company: Gargantua Films Serbia MDM EAVE SCHOLARSHIP Konstantinos Vassilaros / HOLY EMY

    WORK IN PROGRESS AWARDS

    TRT AWARD  HONEYLAND Directors: Ljubo Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska Producers: Ljubo Stefanov, Atanas Georgiev Production company: Apollo Media, Trice Films Macedonia POST REPUBLIC AWARD THE DAY AFTER I’M GONE Director: Nimrod Eldar Producer: Eitan Mansuri Production company: Spiro Films Ltd Israel RESTART AWARD WHAT COMES AROUND Director: Reem Saleh Producers: Reem Saleh, Konstantina Stavrianou Production company: Mazameer Productions Lebanon / Egypt / Qatar

    CINELINK DRAMA AWARD

    FILM CENTER SERBIA CINELINK DRAMA AWARD ALL PANTHERS ARE PINK / SVI PANTERI SU PINK Creators: Titus Kreyenberg, Miroslav Mogorović Writer: Dimitrije Vojnov Director: TBC Producers: Titus Kreyenberg, Miroslav Mogorović Production company: Unafilm, Art & Popcorn Germany, Serbia SPECIAL MENTION GLYCERIN / GLICERIN Creators: Ivan Knežević, Miloš Pušić Writers: Ivan Knežević, Miloš Pušić Director: Miloš Pušić Producers: Ivan Knežević, Miloš Pušić Production company: Altertise Serbia

    23rd SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL PARTNER’S AWARDS

    AWARDS OF ASSOCIATION OF BOSNIAN FILMMAKERS

    Ivica Matić Award Redžinald Šimek Ivica Matić Award Tomislav Topić Ivica Matić Award Action Group of the Association of Bosnian Filmmakers for copyrights (Pjer Žalica, Jovan Marjanović, Elma Tataragić and Amar Nović) CINEUROPA NAGRADA SCARY MOTHER / SASHISHI DEDA Director: Ana Urushadze CICAE NAGRADA SON OF SOFIA / O GIOS TIS SOFIAS Director: Elina Psykou THE EUROPEAN DOCUMENTARY NETWORK – TALENT GRANT WHEN PIGS COME Director: Biljana Tutorov SARAJEVO SHORT FILM NOMINEE FOR EUROPAN FIOM AWARDS 2017 COPA-LOCA Director: Christos Massalas BEST PACK & PITCH AWARD (TALENTS SARAJEVO PACK & PITCH) SIRIN Senad Šahmanović – invitation for participation in the co-production market CineLink PINKLER Patricia D’Intino The postproduction of sound services in the amount of 4.000 EUR (studio Chelia)

    BH FILM STUDENT PROGRAMME AWARD

    Best B&H Student Film Award TO OUTLIVE A TURTLE / NADŽIVETI KORNJAČU Director: Katarina Živanović Fakultet dramskih i filmskih umjetnosti Bijeljina Special Jury Award CLEAN / ČISTOĆA Director: Neven Samardžić Akademija scenskih umjetnosti Sarajevo Special Mention WINTER SUN / ZIMSKO SUNCE Director: Pilar Palomero Sarajevo Film Academy image via Facebook

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  • 48 Films from International Filmmakers Among Contemporary World Cinema Slate of 2017 Toronto International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_23745" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Marlina si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak) Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Marlina si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak)[/caption] The Contemporary World Cinema slate of the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival will feature 48 titles from international filmmakers, that covers disparate regions of the world with a strong presence from Latin America, Scandinavia, and Central Europe. “Each film in Contemporary World Cinema offers a much-needed look at another part of the world through the eyes of a storyteller embedded in that culture,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF. “Taken together, these four dozen films invite us all to expand and deepen our picture of the world.” The Contemporary World Cinema program is being bolstered with a series of 23 World Premieres, among them Argentinian filmmaker Diego Lerman’s A Sort of Family, South African Khalo Matabane’s The Number, Iraqi Mohamed Jabarah Al-daradji’s The Journey, Finnish Teemu Nikki’s Euthanizer and Australian actor Simon Baker’s directorial debut, Breath. The program also highlights an impressive selection of films that have captivated audiences worldwide, including Félicité by Alain Gomis and the animated film The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales by Benjamin Renner and Patrick Imbert.

    2017 Toronto International Film Festival Contemporary World Cinema Program

    A Ciambra Jonas Carpignano, Italy/France/USA/Germany International Premiere A Sort of Family (Una Especie de Familia) Diego Lerman, Argentina/Brazil/France/Poland World Premiere Alanis Anahí Berneri, Argentina World Premiere Ana, mon amour Călin Peter Netzer, Romania/Germany/France North American Premiere Angels Wear White (Jia Nian Hua) Vivian Qu, China/France North American Premiere April’s Daughter (Las Hijas de Abril) Michel Franco, Mexico North American Premiere Arrhythmia Boris Khlebnikov, Russia/Finland/Germany North American Premiere Beyond Words Urszula Antoniak, Netherlands/Poland World Premiere Birds Without Names (Kanojo ga Sono Na wo Shiranai Toritachi) Kazuya Shiraishi, Japan World Premiere Breath Simon Baker, Australia World Premiere Dark is the Night (Madilim ang Gabi) Adolfo Alix Jr., Philippines World Premiere Directions (Posoki) Stephan Komandarev, Bulgaria/Germany/Macedonia North American Premiere Disappearance (Verdwijnen) Boudewijn Koole, Netherlands/Norway International Premiere Euthanizer (Armomurhaaja) Teemu Nikki, Finland World Premiere Félicité Alain Gomis, France/Senegal/Belgium/Germany/Lebanon North American Premiere Good Favour Rebecca Daly, Ireland/Belgium/Denmark/Netherlands World Premiere Hannah Andrea Pallaoro, Italy/Belgium/France North American Premiere Insyriated Philippe Van Leeuw, Belgium/France/Lebanon Canadian Premiere Life and nothing more Antonio Méndez Esparza, Spain/USA World Premiere Longing (Gaagua) Savi Gabizon, Israel North American Premiere Looking for Oum Kulthum Shirin Neshat, Germany/Austria/Italy/Lebanon/Qatar North American Premiere Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Marlina si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak) Mouly Surya, Indonesia/France/Malaysia/Thailand North American Premiere Miami Zaida Bergroth, Finland International Premiere Motorrad Vicente Amorim, Brazil World Premiere Nina Juraj Lehotský, Slovakia/Czech Republic North American Premiere On Body and Soul Ildikó Enyedi, Hungary North American Premiere Samui Song (Mai Mee Samui Samrab Ter) Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Thailand/Germany/Norway North American Premiere Sergio & Sergei (Sergio & Serguéi) Ernesto Daranas Serrano, Spain/Cuba World Premiere The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales (Le Grand Méchant Renard et autres contes) Benjamin Renner, Patrick Imbert, France North American Premiere The Insult (L’Insulte) Ziad Doueiri, France/Lebanon Canadian Premiere The Journey (Al Rahal) Mohamed Jabarah Al-daradji, Iraq/United Kingdom/France/Qatar/Netherlands World Premiere The Lodgers Brian O’Malley, Ireland World Premiere The Number Khalo Matabane, South Africa World Premiere The Royal Hibiscus Hotel Ishaya Bako, Nigeria World Premiere The Summit (La Cordillera) Santiago Mitre, Argentina/Spain/France North American Premiere Tulipani, Love, Honour and a Bicycle Mike van Diem, Netherlands/Italy/Canada World Premiere Under the Tree (Undir Trénu) Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, Iceland/Denmark/Poland/Germany International Premiere Veronica (Verónica) Paco Plaza, Spain International Premiere Wajib Annemarie Jacir, Palestine/France/Germany/Colombia/Norway/Qatar/United Arab Emirates North American Premiere Western Valeska Grisebach, Germany/Bulgaria/Austria North American Premiere Previously announced Canadian titles in the Contemporary World Cinema programme include Simon Lavoie’s The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond Of Matches, Adam MacDonald’s Pyewacket, Kyle Rideout’s Public Schooled, Ingrid Veninger’s Porcupine Lake, Mina Shum’s Meditation Park, Robin Aubert’s Les Affamés, Pat Mills’ Don’t Talk to Irene, and Tarique Qayumi’s BLACK KITE. The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs September 7 to 17, 2017.

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