25/06/2019 - The Colombian co-production Monos received the Blue Angel for Best Film, while Best Director went to Jonah Hill for his US indie flick Mid90s; further awards went to Austria, Russia and France

Director Kornél Mundruczó with his Golden Camera (© Art Film Fest)

The 27^th Art Film Fest International Film Festival (14-22 June) ended on Saturday with the closing ceremony and the presentation of the Blue Angel Awards. The winners this year came from every corner of the world. Best Film went to the Colombian-Argentinian-Dutch-German-Swedish-Uruguayan co-produced drama Monos [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Alejandro Landes. The film has already enjoyed an award-winning spree this year, winning, amongst others, the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

The movie tells the story of a teenage paramilitary unit operating in the remote jungle, reminiscent of the plot of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. The jury praised its “artful portrayal of a descent into madness, and the eternal conflict between the collective and the individual”.

The Blue Angel for Best Director went to Jonah Hill for his directorial debut, Mid90s, a semi-autobiographical story about young skaters in Los Angeles in the 1990s. The jury applauded Hill for the “intense and authentic depiction of the LA skateboard subculture” and “bringing to life the emotions and hopes of the main characters”.

The Blue Angel for Best Female Performance went to Austrian actress Patrycja Planik, star of the film Lillian [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andreas Horvath
film profile] by director Andreas Horvath. The story is inspired by the real-life figure of Lillian Alling, who disappeared in 1927 while en route from America to Russia by foot. The jury praised Planik’s “coherent and introverted acting, with her face and figure evoking the true emotions of the audience”.

The trophy for Best Male Performance went to Russian actor Alexey Agronovich, who starred in The Humorist [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Mikhail Idov. The film centres on a Russian comedian during Soviet times, who inadvertently becomes a poster boy for the regime. The jury applauded Agronovich’s “convincing transformation from a subservient individual to a non-conformist humourist”.

The winner of the Short Film section was the French animated flick I’m Going Out for Cigarettes by Osman Cefron. The jury complimented the short, which revolves around the painful absence of a parent, on being “a surreal world in which the main character tries to make sense of his complex emotions”.

The jury also decided to grant a Special Mention to the Romanian film A Christmas Gift by Bogdan Mureşanu, which is set the night before the Romanian Revolution. The jury lauded the short for its “good acting, absurdity and humour”.

Two further awards were granted by festivalgoers in an online vote. The Joj Cinema Audience Award for Best Feature Film went to Slovakia’s Loli Paradička [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marka Staviarska
film profile] by Richard Staviarsky, a comedy about the complicated love affair between a handicapped man and a Romany woman. The Art Film Fest Audience Award for Best Competing Short Film went to Russia’s Merry Go Round by Ruslan Bratov. The short follows a drunken trio attempting to escape a group of bandits, only to end up trapped on an amusement park carousel.

The closing ceremony also featured the presentation of the Golden Camera, an award handed out to film professionals for their significant contributions to cinema. This year’s laureate was Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó, a multiple award winner at Cannes with numerous internationally acclaimed films to his name. The Festival President’s Award for the advancement of the art of cinema in Slovakia and abroad went to Slovak actor Štefan Kvietik.

Here is the full list of Blue Angel Award winners:

Best Film
Monos [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Alejandro Landes (Colombia/Argentina/Netherlands/Germany/Sweden/Uruguay)

Best Director
Jonah Hill - Mid90s (USA)

Best Female Performance
Patrycja Planik – Lillian [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andreas Horvath
film profile] (Austria)

Best Male Performance
Alexey Agronovich - The Humorist [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Czech Republic/Latvia/Russia)

Best Short Film
I’m Going Out for Cigarettes - Osman Cefron (France)
Special Mention
A Christmas Gift - Bogdan Mureşanu (Romania)

Joj Cinema Audience Award
Loli Paradička [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marka Staviarska
film profile] - Richard Staviarsky (Slovakia)

Art Film Fest Audience Award for Best Competing Short Film
Merry Go Round - Ruslan Bratov (Russia)

Golden Camera
Kornél Mundruczó

Festival President’s Award
Štefan Kvietik