05/10/2020 - This year’s hybrid edition saw the triumph of Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese’s This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection, winner of the prestigious Golden Puffin

The 2020 edition of the Reykjavik International Film Festival (24 September-4 October), one of Iceland’s leading film events, was brought to a close by the traditional awards ceremony yesterday. This year’s hybrid festival hosted cinema screenings at Bíó Paradís and the Nordic House, alongside a digital showcase including over 100 international films, talks and events.

The big winner of the 2020 edition was Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese’s This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the recipient of the prestigious Golden Puffin. The film is set in a small village nestled amongst the mountains of land-locked Lesotho and follows an 80-year-old widow called Mantoa, who is awaiting the return of her only surviving family member: her son, a migrant worker labouring in a South African coal mine. Sombre messengers deliver the news: her son has died in a mining accident. Distraught by the sudden news of his untimely death, Mantoa struggles to find meaning in her existence. Before being presented at Reykjavik, Mosese’s movie played at other events such as Rotterdam, Venice’s Biennale College, Athens and Sundance.

The jury made the following supporting statement while bestowing the award upon the co-production between Lesotho, South Africa and Italy: “A voyage to a magical and isolated place where the 80-year-old protagonist is fighting for nature to stay as nature before it is smashed by modernity, which she considers as her last mission in life, as she is on the edge. The stunning performance of the exceptional Mary Twala, the wonderful sound design and the epic images of Pierre de Villiers help each other to craft an epic movie. The subject is very much related to the current time, when a lot of rural areas are vanishing in the name of progress. The film questions the value of tradition and nature in the world today.”

Here is a list of the festival’s award winners:

New Visions Category - Golden Puffin
This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese (Lesotho/South Africa/Italy)
Honourable Mention
Lonely Rock [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Alejandro Telémaco Tarraf (Argentina/Mexico/Qatar/UK)

A Different Tomorrow Award
Songs of Repression [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Estephan Wagner and Mariann…
film profile] - Estephan Wagner and Marianne Hougen-Moraga (Denmark/Netherlands)
Honourable Mention
The Earth Is Blue as an Orange [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Iryna Tsilyk
film profile] - Iryna Tsilyk (Ukraine/Lithuania)

International Shorts
Drifting - Hanxiong Bo (USA/China)
Honourable Mention
Entre Tú Y Milagros - Mariana Saffon (Colombia)

Best Icelandic Student Short Award
The Life of Bella - Andri Már Enoksson and Anna Knight (Iceland)

Best Icelandic Short Award
Yes-People - Gísli Darri Halldórsson (Iceland)
Honourable Mention
Animalia - Rúnar Ingi Einarsson (Iceland)