goEast’s Golden Lily goes to This Rain Will Never Stop
- Alina Gorlova’s documentary has received the top prize, while Juja Dobrachkous was crowned Best Director for her film Bebia, à mon seul désir
The 21st edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film, hosted annually by Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum, has wrapped its second “pandemic edition” with the announcement of its winners yesterday.
The festival’s main award, the Golden Lily, accompanied by €10,000 in cash, went to the documentary film This Rain Will Never Stop [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alina Gorlova
film profile] by Alina Gorlova. Chaired by Saodat Ismailova, the international jury remarked that “Gorlova's vision, outwardly stoic and full of empathy, pushes at simple boundaries by using image and sound as sensory experience.”
Juja Dobrachkous received the Award of the City of Wiesbaden for Best Director, which is also accompanied by €7,500, for her feature, Bebia, à mon seul désir [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Juja Dobrachkous
film profile], and the jury praised the director for her courage as the “film creates an individual world that reinforces the character portrayals and deepens the storyline.” Furthermore, the film has received the FIPRESCI International Film Critic's Award in the Fiction Feature category.
The Award for Cultural Diversity went to How I Became a Partisan [+see also:
interview: Vera Lacková
film profile], Vera Lacková’s documentary, which had its world premiere at goEast, and the jury stated that the film “develops into a compelling personal journey through a practically unknown story." A Special Mention was bestowed upon Chupacabra by Grigory Kolomytsev, which according to the jurors is “a remarkable fiction feature debut with a clear mise-en-scène and wonderfully poetic sound design that reveals problems in understanding between adults and children”.
As for the Open Frame Award for virtual-reality works, sponsored by the BHF BANK Foundation, it went to the virtual reality and 360° documentary project The Spheres City – Tangible Utopias by Romanian director Ioana Mischie, for “giving children a voice in such a creative manner and embracing and celebrating them as the true hope for our global future.” A Special Mention was handed to #PRISONERSVOICE by Nikita Bohdanov, which interweaves clear and immediate stories of activists with a dense atmosphere, thus providing an intense look at a world that is otherwise unfamiliar to the vast majority of the audience.
The Renovabis Research Grant for documentary film projects with a focus on human rights went to Second Hand War, directed by Anna Benner and Eluned Zoe Aiano. The goEast Development Award, presented by the East-West Talent Lab jury, went to King Matt The First directed by Jaśmina Wójcik and produced by Agnieszka Rostropowicz-Rutkowska. Also, Spa by Ieva Šakalytė received the Pitch the Doc Award at goEast, which features a mentoring programme for the winner, sponsored by the Polish platform of the same name.
Here is the complete list of winners at the 21st goEast Film Festival:
Golden Lily for Best Film
This Rain Will Never Stop [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alina Gorlova
film profile] - Alina Gorlova (Ukraine/Latvia/Germany/Qatar)
Award of the City of Wiesbaden for Best Director
Juja Dobrachkous - Bebia, à mon seul désir [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Juja Dobrachkous
film profile] (Georgia/UK)
Award for Cultural Diversity
How I Became a Partisan [+see also:
interview: Vera Lacková
film profile] - Vera Lacková (Slovakia/Czech Republic)
Special Mention
Chupacabra - Grigory Kolomytsev (Russia)
FIPRESCI International Film Critic's Award (fiction feature)
Bebia, à mon seul désir - Juja Dobrachkous
FIPRESCI International Film Critic's Award (documentary film)
Please Hold The Line [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Pavel Cuzuioc (Austria)
Open Frame Award
The Spheres City – Tangible Utopias - Ioana Mischie (Romania)
Special Mention
#PRISONERSVOICE - Nikita Bohdanov (Ukraine)
RheinMain Short Film Award
Ural - Alla Churikova (Germany/Russia)
Special Mention
Man - Yulia Timoshkina (Latvia)
Renovabis Research Grant
Second Hand War - Anna Benner, Eluned Zoe Aiano (Czech Republic/Germany)
goEast Development Award
King Matt The First - Jaśmina Wójcik (Poland)
Pitch the Doc Award
Spa - Ieva Šakalytė (Lithuania)
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