Chaired by the director Jean-Pierre Améris, the competition jury of the 17th Arras Film Festival has handed out the "Golden Atlas - Grand Jury Prize" to "GLORY" by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov. The film, which was popular in competition at Locarno last summer, is the second feature by the Bulgarian duo, who rose to prominence with "The Lesson". The pair of filmmakers also won in a separate part of the gathering, emerging victorious in the "Arras Days" - their project "THE FATHER" took home the main grant worth €8,000, courtesy of the CNC. Portraying a son’s reunion with his father following his mother’s passing, the screenplay (which they are co-writing with Decho Taralezhkov, as they did with the script for "Glory") explores the topic of the myriad levels of communication problems that can arise between people, as well as the vicious circles that can ensue from them.
"The Silver Atlas", which serves to reward the best director, was bestowed upon "Anna's Life", the feature debut by Georgia’s Nino Basilia. The jury also handed out a "Coup de Coeur" (“Love at First Sight”) Award to "Kills on Wheels" by Hungarian director Attila Till, which also pulled off an impressive hat-trick, pocketing the Audience Award, the Critics’ Award and the Young Jury Award.
As for the "Arras Days", the second development aid grant, which comes with €5,000 from the city of Arras, went to the documentary project "DM (Dusan Makavejev): Mysteries of Freedom" by Goran Radovanovic, whose last work of fiction, "Enclave", represented Serbia in the race for the Oscar for Best Foreign-language Film last year. "ENCLAVE" will be distributed at art-house cinemas in Bulgaria from November 25, distributed by ART FEST.
CONGRATULATIONS for all the winners!