12-06-2017

FNE at TIFF: Georgia Takes Top Awards at 16th TIFF

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    My Happy Family by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross My Happy Family by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross

    CLUJ-NAPOCA: The 16th Transilvania IFF (TIFF), which held its closing ceremony on 11 June 2017, has transformed itself into a budding industry powerhouse. That was in evidence in the two largest cash awards distributed by the festival, both of which went to Georgia. The Transilvania Trophy for best film in competition, with a 15,000 EUR prize, went to My Happy Family directed by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross, and the newly expanded Transilvania Pitch Stop Eurimages Co-production Development Award, with a prize of 20,000 EUR, went to the project The Empty House by Rati Tsiteladze.

    My Happy Family also took the Best Performance Award and a prize of 1,500 EUR, which went to Georgian acrtress Ia Shugliashvili. But the real star of the closing ceremony was Alain Delon, greeted with a prolonged standing ovation as he accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award.

    Romanian films held their own, with a plethora of awards dedicated to films in the Romanian Days section. The award for best feature film in that section, and a prize worth 6,000 in post-production services, went to Scarred Hearts / Inimi cicatrizate by Radu Jude. Festival director Tudor Giurgiu took a moment to address the current situation facing the Romanian film industry by noting the letter of protest signed by 450 Romanian filmmakers asking the Parliament to open debate the country’s new film law, which was enacted as an emergency ordinance in November 2016 and approved in December, but was rejected in late May by the new government.

    Most industry guests were in Cluj especially for the closed industry screenings, which were spread across three days, and for three pitching sessions, including the international launch of the new Less Is More (LIM) workshop for low budget films. The festival stands out for its impressive organisation, which is likely to draw ever more international industry guests as word spreads among the cognoscenti. Partnerships with regional industry heavyweights such as connecting cottbus and HBO-Europe, along with Eurimages, underscore the growing importance of this Transilvanian gem.

    The complete list of awards follows:

    Transilvania Trophy for Best Film

    My Happy Family (Germany, Georgia, France)
    Directed by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß
    Produced by Augenschein Filmproduktion
    Coproduced by Polare Film, Arizona Productions
    Supported by the Georgian National Film Center

    Best Directing Award

    Heartstone (Iceland)
    Directed by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson

    Special Jury Award

    God’s Own Country (UK)
    Directed by Francis Lee

    Best Performance Award

    Ia Shugliashvili for My Happy Family (Germany, Georgia, France)

    Special Mention of the Jury

    Glory / Slava (Bulgaria, Greece)
    Directed by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov
    Produced by Abraxas
    Coproduced by Graal Film, Screening Emotions, Aporia Filmworks, Red Carpet
    Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center, Greek Film Centre

    FIPRESCI Prize

    Afterlov / Afterlove (Greece)
    Directed by Stergios Paschos

    The Audience Award

    Heartstone (Iceland)
    Directed by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson

    The Cinepub Audience Award, for the most popular film in Romanian Days section

    Planet Petrila / Planeta Petrila (Romania), Documentary
    Directed by Andrei Dăscălescu
    Produced by FILMLAB
    Coproduced by HBO Romania

    Lifetime Achievement Award to actor Alain Delon

    Excellence Award to actress Tora Vasilescu

    Lifetime Achievement Award to actress Violeta Andrei

    Romanian Days Award for Best Feature Film

    Scarred Hearts / Inimi cicatrizate (Romania, Germany)
    Directed by Radu Jude
    Produced by Hi Film
    Coproduced by Komplizen Film
    Supported by the Romanian Film Centre, the MEDIA Programme

    Romanian Days Award for Best Debut

    Ultimul căldărar / The Last Kalderash (Romania), Documentary
    Directed by Cosmin Bumbuț, Elena Stancu
    Produced by Teleleu.eu

    Romanian Days Award for Best Short Film

    Written/Unwritten
    Directed by Adrian Silișteanu

    Special Mention of the Romanian Days Short Film Jury

    Offstage
    Directed by Andrei Huțuleac

    Best Film Award in the Shadows Shorts Competition

    Curve (Australia)
    Directed by Tim Egan

    Special Mention in the Shadows Shorts Competition

    I Am The Doorway (Czech Republic)
    Directed by Robin Kasparik
    and
    Behind (Spain)
    Directed by Ángel Gómez Hernández

    Transilvania Pitch Stop Awards

    Eurimages Co-production Development Award

    The Empty House (Georgia)
    Directed by Rati Tsiteladze
    Produced by Artway Film

    Post-production services offered by Chainsaw Europe

    The Man Who Surprised Everyone (Russia)
    Directed by Natalya Merkulova, Alexey Chupov

    Centrul Național al Cinematografiei and DACIN SARA

    La Civil (Romania)
    Directed by Teodora Ana Mihai
    Luna Film

    Transilvania Pitch Stop Workshop

    Connecting Cottbus Award

    The Island (Moldova)
    Directed by Dumitru Grosei

    Villa Kult Cultural Residency Award

    La Civil (Romania)
    Directed by Teodora Ana Mihai

    The Pitch Competition Award

    Santa Claus (Romania)
    Directed by Bogdan Andrei Ilieșiu

    Local Competition Award

    The White Box (Romania)
    Directed by Mihai Păcurar

    Special Mention in the Local Competition

    Catlady (Romania)
    Directed by Hedda Bednarszky

    Let’s Go Digital!, Award for Best Film produced in the LGD Workshop

    Și planetele filozofează (Romania)
    Directed by Patricia Suciu, Ștefan Iordache, Sara Pongeac

    The Young Francophone Jury Prize

    Efectul acvatic / L'Effet aquatique / The Together Project (France, Iceland)
    Directed by Sólveig Anspach