Guy Nattiv’s film picks up
Audience, Artistic Achievement awards in international competition of
the 52nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival
THESSALONIKI –Israeli film “Mabul” (“The Flood”), directed by Guy Nattiv, won two prizes at the international competition of the 52nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
“Mabul” picked up the Audience Award, accompanied by a prize of €3,000, as well as the Artistic Achievement Award given to actors Ronit Elkabetz, Michael Moshonov and Yoav Rotma
The judges noted that “the intensity, passion and unified acting of the film’s ensemble make the original story unique and the film genuine, relevant and profoundly moving.”
Russian film “Twilight Portrait”, directed by Angelina Nikonova, won the top “Golden Alexander” award. The film tells the story of a young Russian woman raped by three policemen and sharply criticizes the Russian society and its police corruption.
Her film is a shocking drama about relationship between the victim and the offender. The heroine, who was abused, chooses a pretty non-standard way of avenging herself by falling in love with her insulter.
The Best Director Award went to Mark Jackson of the US for his film “Without”, which follows a 19-year-old girl working as the temporary caretaker of a paralyzed elderly man living in an isolated home.
The Special Jury Award (“Silver Alexander”) was given to Czech film “Eighty Letters”, directed by Václav Kadrnka. The movie, which takes place in communist Czechoslovakia in 1987, follows the bureaucratic journey of a mother and son seeking to immigrate to Britain, where the boy’s father lives.
This year’s jury included Laurence Kardish, senior Curator of Film at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Greek director Constantine Giannaris, and American producer Hisami Kuroiwa.
Three other Israeli films took part in the festival this year: In the Open Horizons section – Michal Aviad’s “Invisible”, in the Experimental Forum – 18-year-old Dror Heller’s “Foundation of Mind” and Zohar Elefant’s “Sivan”.
Source: Ynetnews
