Yahoo Lifestyle Igor Bezinović’s ‘Fiume o morte!’ Wins Rotterdam Tiger Award, ‘The Tree of Authenticity’ and ‘Im Haus meiner Eltern’ Take Jury Prizes
Igor Bezinović’s hybrid documentary “Fiume o morte!” was awarded the Tiger Award, the top prize of the International Film Festival Rotterdam worth €40,000, on Friday evening. Bezinović’s film captures the spirit of Italian poet, playwright, journalist, aristocrat and army officer Gabriele D’Annunzio — who in 1919 occupied the city of Fiume — through dramatic reconstruction and documentary interludes.
In their statement, the Tiger jury said: “At times of the rise of ultra-nationalism within a contemporary European context, the film playfully grapples with the past not as a closed chapter, but as a living reality. Unless we engage the past as a living present it will insist in ways that are not only a warning for the future, but threaten the very possibility of equitable co-existence and a life livable for not only those that have recourse to assert power.”
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“Recourse to ultra nationalism, and even fascism, resides in the core of national identity, it is already inside of us as a form of knowledge we should be afraid to forget, and continuously need to process in order to forgo its grip,” continued the statement. “It is a reality we remember from movies, literature, billboards and books. These are memories that travel as far as the history of a nation. So we need to make history anew, again and again, to not only unforget, but beget the world we wish there was, for all of us.”
The Tiger Competition jury consisted of Yuki Aditya, Winnie Lau, Peter Strickland, and Andrea Luka Zimmerman. The jury also initially included “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” star Soheila Golestani, however she was unable to attend and thus participate due to a travel ban which prevented her leaving Iran.
The jury also gave out special jury awards worth €10,000 each to Sammy Baloji’s environmental film essay on the Democratic Republic of Congo’s colonial history “The Tree of Authenticity” and Tim Ellrich’s sensitive, personal drama about the toll of caregiving “Im Haus meiner Eltern.” In their statements, the jury called the former a “beautiful essay film with a methodical, playful and meditative approach to both science and history” and the latter “an intimately observed film.”
Jon Blåhed’s “Raptures” — a tight drama about a Christian woman trapped in a sectarian movement and the first film to be made using the minority language Meänkiel — won the main prize worth €15,000 at the festival’s Big Screen Competition, which supports the distribution of nominated films in the Netherlands.
The jury, consisting of Bero Beyer, Dewi Reijs, Jia Zhao, Sara Rajaei and Digna Sinke, stated: “Driven by a complex leading role, the film is stunningly shot, literally composing its own language. A film that asks painful questions that were relevant almost a century ago and, as it turns out, are even more relevant today.”
Full list of winners below:
TIGER COMPETITION
Tiger Award to “Fiume o morte!” dir. Igor Bezinović (Croatia, Italy, Slovenia)
Special Jury Award to “The Tree of Authenticity” dir. Sammy Baloji (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Special Jury Award to “Im Haus meiner Eltern” dir. Tim Ellrich (Germany)
BIG SCREEN COMPETITION
“Raptures” dir. Jon Blåhed (Sweden, Finland)
FIPRESCI AWARD
“Fiume o morte!” dir. Igor Bezinović (Croatia, Italy, Slovenia)
NETPAC AWARD
“Bad Girl” dir. Varsha Bharath (India)
YOUTH JURY AWARD
“The Visual Feminist Manifesto” dir. Farida Baqi (Syria, Lebanon, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands)
FURTHER AWARDS
The Audience Award and the IFFR Youth Jury Award will be announced on Sunday with the festival’s close. IFFR Pro Winners can be found here.
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