Organised in December by ARTE in conjunction with Festival Scope (and with the support of Creative Europe), and after having allowed internet users from 45 countries in Europe to view ten top-notch features free of charge from 1-31 December 2020 (racking up a total of 67,603 viewings, up by 47% compared to 2019), the fifth ArteKino Festival has seen Motherland [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Lithuania’s Tomas Vengris take home the European Audience Award (worth €20,000). The filmmaker’s feature debut, which was first unveiled at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, was produced by Lithuania’s Studio Uljana Kim and Latvia’s Locomotive Productions together with German outfit Heimathafen Film and Greece’s Faliro House. Its international sales have been entrusted to French firm Alpha Violet.

Handed out for the second year (in partnership with Erasmus+) by a panel of Europeans aged between 18 and 25, the Youth Jury Award (endowed with €10,000) went to Son of Sofia [+lee también:
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entrevista: Elina Psykou
ficha de la película], the second feature by Greece’s Elina Psykou. First revealed at Tribeca, this production involving Greece’s Heretic – Creative Producers, Bulgaria’s Chouchkov Brothers and France’s KinoElektron is being sold by Heretic Outreach.

Interestingly, the trophies will be given out officially on 22 January during a digital ceremony, followed by an interview between Tomas Vengris and Olivier Père (the director of Arte France Cinéma).