23/07/2018 - The jubilee edition of the Serbian festival, which also hosted the first meeting of the European Film Festival Network, has crowned the Cannes darling from Belgium, while At War got the FIPRESCI Award

The winners of the 2018 European Film Festival Palić (© EFF Palić)

Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lukas Dhont
film profile], one of the big discoveries at the latest edition of Cannes - with four prizes into the bargain, including the Caméra d'Or for Belgian director Lukas Dhont, the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize for Best Performance rewarding Victor Polster's turn as a transgender youth learning to become a woman and a ballerina, the Queer Palm and a FIPRESCI Award – has scooped the Golden Tower at the 25th European Film Festival Palić, held in Subotica, Serbia, from 14-20 July.

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The jury of the Official Selection of 12 films (see the news), put together by programmer Nenad Dukić under the slogan "diversity and engagement”, found that Dhont's drama "was the most accomplished and powerful piece [and dealt with] a difficult topic not only with sincerity and complexity, but also with real depth and without any stereotypes".

The Palić Tower for Best Director went to Rasmus Kloster Bro for Cutterhead [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rasmus Kloster Bro
film profile], a claustrophobic title entirely confined to a Copenhagen-set, underground construction site, in which the jury appreciated "the brilliant script, directing of actors, editing and visual concept". On stage, the Danish filmmaker underlined how representative of Europe his film was. A Special Mention was bestowed upon debut Spanish director Arantxa Echevarría for Carmen & Lola [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arantxa Echevarría
film profile], which was found to be "bold, tender and authentic" as well as brave. 

Palić’s first-ever FIPRESCI jury, weighing up the movies in the Official Competition Selection, singled out Stéphane Brizé's Palme d’Or contender At War [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stéphane Brizé
film profile] (France) "for the masterful and thrilling way in which the director transfigures the social battlefield into a unique cinematic experience and for the outstanding performance by Vincent Lindon.”

Of the ten features taking part in the Parallels and Encounters programme, the FEDEORA jury unanimously picked out a recent Karlovy Vary award winner, Blossom Valley [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Csuja
film profile] by László Csuja (Hungary), remarking that it was “a poignant first feature depicting how contemporary misfits crave love and struggle for survival, within an alienating society”. 

This diverse and high-quality jubilee edition of the EFF Palić – which oozed a fresh, renewed energy, clearly visible every night, under the stars, in the experimental Young Spirit of Europe programme curated by Neil Young – was also marked by the first meeting of the newly founded European Film Festival Network, which includes the EFF Palić as well as the Crossing Europe Film Festival (Linz, Austria), the Lecce European Film Festival (Italy), the Cottbus Film Festival (Germany), Les Arcs Film Festival (France), the Scanorama Film Festival (Vilnius, Lithuania) and the Seville European Film Festival (Spain). 

Here is the complete list of winners at the 2018 European Film Festival Palić: 

Golden Tower for Best Film 
Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lukas Dhont
film profile] – Lukas Dhont (Belgium/Netherlands)

Palić Tower for Best Director 
Rasmus Kloster Bro - Cutterhead [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rasmus Kloster Bro
film profile] (Denmark)

Special Mention
Carmen & Lola [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arantxa Echevarría
film profile] – Arantxa Echevarría (Spain) 

FIPRESCI Award (Official Selection)
At War [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stéphane Brizé
film profile] – Stéphane Brizé (France) 

FEDEORA Award (Parallels and Encounters)
Blossom Valley [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Csuja
film profile] – László Csuja (Hungary)