Silent Land and Factory to the Workers come out on top at Crossing Europe
- Aga Woszczyńska’s debut feature has been crowned as Best Fiction Film at the Linz-based gathering, while Best Documentary went to Srđan Kovačević’s film
The 19th edition of the Crossing Europe Film Festival, and the first under new management (following the departure of long-serving previous head Christine Dollhofer – see the news), consisting of festival co-directors Sabine Gebetsroither and Katharina Riedler, came to a successful close during the awards ceremony that took place on Sunday 1 May at Ursulinesaal in Linz. The festival organised 155 screenings of 148 hand-picked fiction and documentary films from more than 30 countries, with an attendance level of almost 15,000 visitors, which is a significant (30%) increase on last year’s edition, marked by COVID-19 health-and-safety measures.
In the fiction competition, focused on first and second feature films, the top Crossing Europe Award went to Silent Land [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aga Woszczyńska
film profile] by Polish filmmaker Aga Woszczyńska. The jury, consisting of London-based writer and researcher Isabel Jacobs, German independent distributor Jakob Kijas and Latvian filmmaker and editor Uģis Olte, praised the film for its excellent cast, efficient cinematography and imaginative sound design, calling it “an impressive, subtle debut that achieves everything that cinema is capable of”. In the same competition, the Audience Award was given to Laura Wandel’s Playground [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Wandel
film profile]. Both movies were also given prize money of €5,000, provided by Linz Kultur and Land Oberösterreich Kultur, respectively.
Srđan Kovačević’s Factory to the Workers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Srdjan Kovačević
film profile] was granted the Crossing Europe Social Awareness Award, acknowledging the best documentary in the competition. Jury members Annina Wettstein (a Swiss festival programmer), Wouter Jansen (a Dutch sales agent and distributor) and Antigoni Papantoni (a Greek associate producer and sales agent) explained their decision by stating that the film shows a microcosm of contemporary capitalist society, and acts as a strong critique and reflection upon important questions that we should be asking in our current 24/7 economy. They also praised the director for his use of a “decisive” camera and for telling a layered story. In addition, the film received a cash prize of €5,000, provided by gfk-Gesellschaft für Kulturpolitik OÖ.
The teen jury of the YAAAS! Competition picked Dennis Stormer’s Youth Topia [+see also:
film review
interview: Dennis Stormer, Marisa Meier
film profile] as the best film from among the candidates, while local artists were also awarded in separate competition. The main award and a cash prize of €5,000 from Land Oberösterreich Kultur went to Jola Wieczorek’s Stories from the Sea [+see also:
film review
film profile], while Leni Gruber’s and Alex Reinberg’s short Hollywood got a €2,000 voucher from Grand Post, and I Accept (by Nnella), directed by Alexander Au Yeong and Nadja Bodlak, triumphed in the music-video competition.
The physical part of the 2022 Crossing Europe Film Festival may be over, but the films will be available on the festival’s VoD platform until 2 June.
Here is the complete list of award winners:
Crossing Europe Competition – Fiction
Crossing Europe Award – Best Fiction Film
Silent Land [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aga Woszczyńska
film profile] – Aga Woszczyńska (Poland/Italy/Czech Republic)
Crossing Europe Audience Award – Best Fiction Film
Playground [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Wandel
film profile] – Laura Wendel (Belgium)
Crossing Europe Competition – Documentary
Crossing Europe Social Awareness Award – Best Documentary
Factory to the Workers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Srdjan Kovačević
film profile] – Srđan Kovačević (Croatia)
YAAAS! Competition
Crossing Europe Award – YAAAS! Youth Jury
Youth Topia [+see also:
film review
interview: Dennis Stormer, Marisa Meier
film profile] – Dennis Stormer (Switzerland/Germany)
Crossing Europe Competition – Local Artist
Crossing Europe Award – Money Prize
Stories from the Sea [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Jola Wieczorek (Austria)
Crossing Europe Award – Voucher Prize
Hollywood – Leni Gruber, Alex Reinberg (Austria, short)
Creative Region Music Video Award
I Accept by Nnella – Alexander Au Yeong, Nadja Bodlak (Austria)
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