VENICE 2021 Giornate degli Autori / Awards

Immaculate scoops the 2021 GdA Director’s Award

11/09/2021 - VENICE 2021: Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark’s movie is crowned the winner by the 27 Times Cinema jury, while Californie wins the Europa Cinemas Label and Private Desert, the Audience Award

Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark with their GdA Director’s Award for Immaculate (© Giornate degli Autori)

Immaculate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Monica Stan, George Chiper-…
film profile] by Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark has won the GdA Director’s Award at the 18^th Giornate degli Autori in Venice. The Romanian title was singled out from among the ten films in competition by the 27 Times Cinema jury, which was composed of 27 young European film lovers (read their blog here) and presided over by directors Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova.

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The GdA Director’s Award consists of €20,000, half of which goes to the director and the other half to the film’s international sales agent to assist with the movie’s circulation. The jury explained their decision as follows: “Immaculate is a powerful film whose message is wonderfully expressed through the lens of the camera. Immaculate is the voice of two authors who successfully recount, by way of interesting cinematic choices and measured acting performances, the journey of a girl who is a victim of addiction. […] Also tackling themes such as toxic relationships and abuse, Immaculate is everything that a film should be, in our opinion: a mirror held up to society. A society where women are trapped within the claustrophobic world of oppression”.

Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova also chose to award a Jury Presidents’ Special Mention to Shen Kong by Chen Guan with the following explanation: “Humour, freshness, audacity and a lack of artistic boundaries rarely co-exist in arthouse cinema. This fine work successfully conjures up philosophical reflections on loneliness, isolation, love, affection and the meaning of life”.

The Europa Cinemas Label, meanwhile, was handed to Californie [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alessandro Cassigoli, Casey…
film profile] by Alessandro Cassigoli and Casey Kauffman. Dedicated to European productions and co-productions, the Label consists of a financial contribution towards the distribution and promotion of the winning work, as well as towards its exhibition in movie theatres belonging to their network. “It opens a penetrating and universal window onto the evolution of any 9 to 14-year-old girl”, the jury’s explanation reads, “whilst also showing how one specific young Moroccan immigrant, Jamila, finds her own path in Italy. It’s tender, funny and, at times, difficult to watch, but it’s also positive”. This year’s jury was composed of Federico Babini (Spazio Alfieri, Florence, Italy), Piotr Czerkawski (New Horizons Cinema, Wroclaw, Poland), Meryl Moser (Cinérive S.A., Vevey, Switzerland) and Andrea Stosiek (Sputnik Kino, Berlin, Germany).

Last but not least, was the BNL Audience Award, which, with 62.6% of audience votes, went to Private Desert [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aly Muritiba
film profile] by Aly Muritiba. As for the €2,000 contribution offered by BNL in support of the author whose film displayed the most originality and bravery among the 2021 Giornate degli Autori candidates, this was awarded to Alessandro Cassigoli, Casey Kauffman and Vanessa Picciarelli, who wrote the screenplay for Californie, owing to: “the highly topical subject-matter it explores as it follows a young woman hailing from Morocco, over a five-year-period, as she hovers between choices, desires and her search for self within the complex southern Italian landscape”.

As previously announced, the Creative Talent Prize, which the Italian Society of Authors and Editors (SIAE) bestows upon authors who break down creativity boundaries, has this year been awarded to Elisa Fuksas (Senza fine [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and Francesco Lettieri (Lovely Boy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Francesco Lettieri
film profile]).

The list of awards handed out at the 2021 Giornate degli Autori is as follows:

GdA Director’s Award
Immaculate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Monica Stan, George Chiper-…
film profile] - Monica Stan, George Chiper-Lillemark (Romania)

Jury Presidents’ Special Mention
Shen Kong - Chen Guan (Macau)

Europa Cinemas Label
Californie [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alessandro Cassigoli, Casey…
film profile] - Alessandro Cassigoli, Casey Kauffman (Italy)

BNL Audience Award
Private Desert [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aly Muritiba
film profile] - Aly Muritiba (Brazil/Portugal)

BNL Financial Contribution in support of one author screened within the Giornate degli Autori event
Alessandro Cassigoli, Casey Kauffman, Vanessa Picciarelli - Californie

SIAE Prize for Creative Talent
Elisa Fuksas - Senza fine [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Italy)
Francesco Lettieri - Lovely Boy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Francesco Lettieri
film profile] (Italy)