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PRIFEST 2019 Awards

A Shelter Among the Clouds and Consequences emerge triumphant at the 11th PriFest

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- The Prishtina International Film Festival has wrapped its 11th edition, which ran from 16-21 July and screened over 70 films, with an awards ceremony held at the National Theatre

A Shelter Among the Clouds and Consequences emerge triumphant at the 11th PriFest
Some of the winners of the 2019 edition of the Prishtina International Film Festival

The winner of the Balkan film competition at the 11th Prishtina International Film Festival (PriFest, 16-21 July), a strand also known as the “Honey and Blood” programme, was Albanian director Robert Budina’s feature A Shelter Among the Clouds [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robert Budina
film profile
]
, as decreed by jury members Karin Dix, Daniel Mulloy and Eponine Momenceau. Furthermore, the film’s leading actors, who both originate from Kosovo, Arben Bajraktaraj and Irena Cahani, snagged the Best Actor and Best Actress Awards, respectively. The jury bestowed the Best Director Award upon Turkey’s Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun for his film The Announcement [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun
film profile
]
, which also picked up the FIPRESCI Jury Award.

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The international jury for PriFest’s European competition, comprising Claudia Landsberger, Armond Morina and Vladimir Anastasov, handed first-time Slovenian director-screenwriter Darko Štante’s Consequences [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Darko Štante
interview: Timon Sturbej
film profile
]
the Best European Film Award, while Russian actor Vladimir Mishukov received the Special Jury Prize for his role in Elephants Can Play Football by Mikhail Segal. Also, Zoe, the daughter in Catalan helmer Carlos Marqués-Marcet’s The Days to Come [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carlos Marques-Marcet
film profile
]
, received a Special Mention, while the movie itself scooped the Media Jury Award, a trophy that was also handed to the director’s previous film, Anchor and Hope [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carlos Marques-Marcet
film profile
]
, last year.

In the Documentary programme, Rodrigo AreiasBlue Breath received the Best Documentary Award, and Miel-Emile [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Dutch documentarian Peter van Houten was rewarded with a Special Mention. The International Achievement of a Kosovar Film/Actor Award went to thesp Kushtrim Hoxha, known for his role in Ismet Sijarina’s Cold November [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ismet Sijarina
film profile
]
.

Finally, in PriFORUM, the industry section of PriFest, the project that went home with the Best Pitch Award was Gulizar by Turkish director Belkıs Bayrak, which received a €50,000 prize for video post-production, whereas the Sound Postproduction Award, worth €10,000, went to the Macedonian project Aisha by Hanis Bagashov. The €1,500 PriFest Award was handed to My Brother by Yulian Malaj and Harris Davas, from Albania, and the Best Green Project was deemed to be Nature by Beatrice Shabanaj and Verona Berisha.

Here is the complete list of winners at the 11th Prishtina International Film Festival:

Best Balkan Film – Honey and Blood
A Shelter Among the Clouds [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robert Budina
film profile
]
- Robert Budina (Albania/Romania)

Best Director
Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun - The Announcement [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun
film profile
]
(Turkey/Bulgaria)

Best Actor Award
Arben Bajraktaraj - A Shelter Among the Clouds

Best Actress Award
Irena Cahani - A Shelter Among the Clouds

Best European Film
Consequences [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Darko Štante
interview: Timon Sturbej
film profile
]
- Darko Štante (Slovenia/Austria)

Special Jury Prize
Vladimir Mishukov - Elephants Can Play Football (Russia)

Special Mention
Zoe - The Days to Come [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carlos Marques-Marcet
film profile
]
(Spain)

Best Documentary Award
Blue Breath - Rodrigo Areias (Portugal/Finland/France)

Special Mention for Documentary
Miel-Emile [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Peter van Houten (Netherlands)

FIPRESCI Award – Best Balkan Film
The Announcement - Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun

Media Jury Award
The Days to Come - Carlos Marques-Marcet

Middle-length Award
Let’s the Death Be Alive - Uriel Jaouen Zrehen (France)

Student Programme Award
Colour Cage - Daniel Reascos (Ecuador)

Lifetime Achievement Award from PriFest
Melihate Qena (actress)
Selman Lokaj (actor)

International Achievement of a Kosovar Film/Actor
Kushtrim Hoxha

Audience Award
An Unforgettable Spring in a Forgotten Village - Kushtrim Bekteshi (North Macedonia/Kosovo/Albania)

PriFORUM Awards

Best Pitch - Video Postproduction Award
Gulizar - Belkıs Bayrak (Turkey)

Best Pitch - Sound Postproduction Award
Aisha - Hanis Bagashov (North Macedonia)

Best Pitch – PriFest Award
My Brother - Yulian Malaj, Harris Davas (Albania)

Best Green Film Project
Nature - Beatrice Shabanaj, Verona Berisha

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