22/04/2024 - Four Daughters, Dahomey and Sister of Mine have also emerged as winners at the Croatian documentary gathering

The 20th-anniversary edition of ZagrebDox, which took place in the Kaptol Boutique Cinema in the Croatian capital from 14-21 April, drew to a close with an awards ceremony on Saturday. The audience had the chance to see the total of 102 films across 12 sections, while professionals were able to attend the rich and relevant ZagrebDox Pro industry programme.

In the International Competition, the jury, consisting of filmmakers Valerie Blankebyl, Lea Glob and Hrvoje Hribar, rewarded Four Daughters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile] by Kaouther Ben Hania by presenting it with the Big Stamp for the best film. “It creates a space in which these incredibly courageous and resilient protagonists can explore their own story with the help of actors, a stage and scripted scenes, drawn from their own experiences. The openness and vulnerability that we see through this setup are a rare gift. The film is brave and deeply effective in making us understand the simultaneousness of light and dark, both in human nature and the lives that Olfa and her daughters live,” they stated in their explanation. A Special Mention was awarded to Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind of Wilderness [+see also:
film review
film profile].

Dávid Mikulán and Bálint Révész’s KIX [+see also:
film review
film profile] was deemed the best film in the regional competition by the jury consisting of film critic and curator Alessandro Stellino, cinematographer Enes Midžić and filmmaker Tomislav Mršić, who awarded it the Big Stamp. “What started out as a playful game for the film crew and the protagonist of this cinematic tour de force shot over the course of 12 years became a powerful and touching statement on the process of growing up and taking responsibility in our absent society, both as individuals and as a collective,” they stated. The same jury awarded Kumjana Novakova’s Silence of Reason [+see also:
film review
film profile] with a Special Mention.

KIX went on to win two more prizes: the Small Stamp from the young jury, aimed at auteurs under 35 years of age, and the FIPRESCI Award. The Special Mention for the Young Jury Award was presented to Anja Koprivšek’s Grand Prize.

The Small Stamp for Best Short Film was bestowed upon Lucija Brkić for In Transit, by jury members Miljenka Čongelja, Tue Steen Müller and Tomislav Pavlic. The same jury granted Boy by Vladimir Loginov a Special Mention.

The Movies That Matter Award, for a special achievement in promoting human rights, was awarded to this year’s Golden Bear winner, Mati Diop, for her documentary Dahomey [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], while Zhang Jialing scored a Special Mention for Total Trust [+see also:
film review
film profile]. The Teen Dox Award went to Mariusz Rusiński’s Sister of Mine, while Boyz by Sylvain Cruiziat snagged a Special Mention.

The Honorary Big Stamp was awarded to Werner Herzog for his work, which has been crucial to documentary filmmaking for decades, and whose movie The White Diamond was the opening film of the first-ever ZagrebDox some 20 years ago. Last but not least, the closing film of the festival’s official programme, No Other Land [+see also:
film review
interview: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
film profile] by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, won the Aviteh Audience Award.

Here is the complete list of award winners:

International Competition

Big Stamp
Four Daughters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile] – Kaouther Ben Hania (France/Saudi Arabia/Germany/Tunisia/Cyprus)
Special Mention
A New Kind of Wilderness [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Silje Evensmo Jacobsen (Norway)

Regional Competition

Big Stamp
KIX [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Dávid Mikulán, Bálint Révész (Hungary/France/Croatia)
Special Mention
Silence of Reason [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Kumjana Novakova (North Macedonia/Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Shorts Competition

Small Stamp
In Transit – Lucija Brkić (Croatia, short)
Special Mention
Boy – Vladimir Loginov (Estonia, short)

Movies That Matter

Movies That Matter Award
Dahomey [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Mati Diop (France/Senegal/Benin)
Special Mention
Total Trust [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Zhang Jialing (Germany/Netherlands)

Young Jury Awards

Small Stamp
KIX – Dávid Mikulán, Bálint Révész
Special Mention
Grand Prize – Anja Koprivšek (Croatia, mid-length)

Teen Dox

Teen Dox Award
Sister of Mine – Mariusz Rusiński (Poland, short)
Special Mention
Boyz – Sylvain Cruiziat (Germany)

FIPRESCI Award
KIX – Dávid Mikulán, Bálint Révész

Honorary Big Stamp
Werner Herzog

Aviteh Audience Award
No Other Land [+see also:
film review
interview: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
film profile] – Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor (Palestine/Norway)