Volkswagen Financial Services Film Prize (Best Film in the Main Competition – Jury Prize)

Directed by: Veerle Baetens, Belgium/Netherlands, 2023, 113 min.

JURY STATEMENT:

A young woman embarks on a journey to her childhood village, taking with her only a pet turtle and a block of ice. As she confronts the demons of her past, her scars and suffering become clearer and her determination to finally let the ice melt becomes more relatable.

For its exquisite visual storytelling and a truly moving film that stays with you for days, for exploring the dark side of a young girl's coming of age and for not looking away from even the most dramatic events, the Jury Prize for Best Film in Competition is proudly awarded to WHEN IT MELTS and director Veerle Baetens

Directed by: David Kapac, Andrija Mardešić, Croatia/Serbia 2022, 104 min.

Jury Statement:
On the DVD cover of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, there's a quote: "The film is like a train wreck - terrible, but you have to watch it." It's a film that captures you in its appearance, mood, and feeling from the very first moments. You're afraid of missing out because the directors have so much to unveil. Christmas is usually a metaphor for hope, love, and peace, but not here. When you discover that the "normal family" portrayed by the directors isn't so normal after all, you've already crossed the point of no return on your journey down the rabbit hole. The refreshing narrative is complemented by fitting compositions. Much is only hinted at, so much unfolds in the viewer's mind, but some is also presented in its full intensity. The actors are fantastic, the setting, and above all, the camera with its surreal anamorphic look - everything fits together perfectly. Despite initially feeling a certain distance from the characters, the audience can empathize with the pain of the family going through hell because all the puzzle pieces of the complex plot are well-told. It feels like FUNNY GAMES, but entirely different. Please welcome the fresh, original, modern, and promising debutants David Kapac & Andrija Mardešić from THE UNCLE.

Directed by: Giovanni Aloi, Germany/France 2020, 92 min.

Jury Statement:
A war film without war as a metaphor for fear as a tool of politics: The overwhelming presence of the military in the streets of French cities in response to Islamist terrorism inspired this young Italian master director to create the most original film in this competition. Framed within the story of a young soldier searching for direction and a female officer, it becomes a universally relevant exploration of masculinity and power structures. Almost abstractly choreographed street scenes keep the film in a hyper-realistic flow. The Volkswagen Financial Services Film Prize goes to Giovanni Aloi for his masterful film, THE THIRD WAR.

Directed by: Piotr Domalewski, Polen/Irland 2020, 100 min.

Jury Statement:
We fell in love with a coming-of-age story that questions the immigrant workers fate in Europe through the eye of an angry daughter. For its deep and personal point of view, for the sensitivity of its directing and the wonderful performance of its actress, for its emotion and its empathy towards its outcast characters, it is with enthusiasm that we attribute the “Volkswagen Financial Services Film Award” to I NEVER CRY directed by Piotr Domalewski, a director of whom we wait for the next feature film.

Honorary mentions:
We were touched by a film that draws with simplicity and humility a state of play of the eastern immigration. This first feature questions the social issues of the working class in UK and talks about what brings us together no matter our culture is. For these reasons, we award CAT IN THE WALL directed by Mina Mileva & Vesela Kazakova a special mention.

We decided to give a special mention to a film with a true cinematic ambition, a fable about the colonisation in Africa told through the eye of a Portuguese soldier. With the feeling of discovering a promising director, the jury awards a special mention to MOSQUITO directed by João Nuno Pinto.

Director: Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje, United Kingdom 2018, 107 min.

Statement of the jury:
The jury had to make a difficult choice within a wide range of styles and artistic approaches. We would like to give a special mention to two outstanding works.
SOLE, by Carlo Sironi, for it’s gentle way of handling an untold trauma and cold tension. For a portrait of emotionless yet troubled young people, with love, care and no judgement for the characters.
And to I AM LYING NOW, by Paweł Borowski, for an aesthetically colourful, whimsical and vibrant yet dark picture. We especially liked the attention to detail, in styling, the symmetry and the art direction in general. The theme, disinformation and nonsense is handled in this intriguing script with a sense of humour and caution.

But finally we agreed to give the prize to In IN MY SKIN (FARMING), by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. For it’s cinematic energy, bold, accusing and sharp picture. A complex portray of loosing yourself, loneliness and the roots of anger and cruelty. A modern story of a forgotten past fighting with social and national stigma, with an engaging cast and unique storytelling.

A brilliant piece of cinematic art!
 

Driected by: Károly Ujj Mészáros, Hungary 2018, 111 min.

Statement of the Jury:
Ten recent films competed for the Volkswagen Financial Services Film Prize, which was awarded for the first time, for the best newcomer or second film. The jury was almost as international as the productions. And with their professional background, their views of recent cinematic productions were as varied as the films. The "classic" newcomer theme, "growing up/generational conflict" and the associated "road movie" with a "classic" plot were a defining feature in the programme. 

Social studies on Eastern Europe or India with a special emphasis on the situation of women, youth protest in London or the aftermath of the political turning point around 1989 were to be discussed and evaluated. Many paths to the debut were represented: The feature film based on short films or screenplays, the feature film based on documentaries or clips, the TV production based on theatre work. All in all, this was a strong field that demanded intense arguments about individual perspectives. The jury was always aware that the best film and not the best screenplay, the best actress or the best director had to be nominated. Important criteria for them were the originality of the techniques and the intensity with which a film is able to generate interest for its theme and its protagonists.

Nevertheless, there were also outstanding individual performances, whereby the jury would like to highlight the young actor Andrea Lattanzi for the title role in MANUEL by Dario Albertini. His portrayal of a child who was raised in an institution and now a young adult and who takes responsibility for his imprisoned mother, is intensely moving and carries the film.

However, the jury's vote for the best overall film performance went to a recent Hungarian production, X - THE EXPLOITED by Károly Ujj Mászáros. Superficially a Hungarian interpretation of the female investigator in Nordic Noir style, the film convinces with an extremely dense, always surprising arc of tension, realised with great attention to detail. Original pictorial symbolism perfectly stages the consistently strong, character-rich ensemble around the traumatised policewoman Eva (Móni Balsai). Secret services from the communist past, which have gone into hiding, once again create fear and terror against the background of the current conflicts about a democratic future. The gloomy style is thus anything but a decorative end in itself, but is the causal driver of history. 

A great piece of European cinema and a worthy first prize winner of the new Volkswagen Financial Services Film Award.