INTERNATIONAL JURY AWARD
Best doc
Il mio corpo, Michele Pennetta
For giving voice to submerged worlds that live suspended on the margins of our time, bringing back a part of humanity capable of photographing life suspended in time. For putting back in the light marginalized bodies and forgotten lives. In honor of the thousands of people who died attempting to reach these shores.
Best short doc
The golden buttons, Alex Evstigneev
As in a thriller, the film sheds light on one of the dark sides of contemporary Russia by investigating with rhythm, image and suggestion a child’s world crushed by militarism and propaganda. The director masterfully utilizes logistical limitations to their artistic advantage and, thus, creates a singular work that without those obstacles and response to them would not have occurred.
Best direction
Fiancèes, Julia Bünter
For the rare intimacy captured on camera, Fiancees, director Julia Bünter excelled in gaining the trust of her subjects and featuring fly-on-the wall moments that are cinematic gold. Her empathic work places her in the esteemed tradition of direct cinema and such legendary documentar artists as the Maysles brothers, Agnès Varda, D.A. Pennebaker, and Barbara Kopple.
Best photography
Rhythms of lost time, Anisa Sabiri
For the quality of the forma, the right distance between the narrator and the narrative: in Rhythms of Lost Time Alexey Venzos portrayed with sensitivity not only people but also their culture, translating emotions about life and death.
Best editing
Il mio corpo, Michele Pennetta
For the power of the narrative and of the emotions within, Orsola Valenti e Damian Plandolit created in Il mio corpo an equilibrium between two parallel worlds inhabited by people resisting to difficult contexts and in difficult times.
Soundrivemotion award | Best sound design
A Black Jesus, Luca Lucchesi
From the beginning of the film, music presents itself in an important way as a trait d’union of the story, and creates a narrative using languages that are sometimes dramatic, nostalgic, but also ironic and joyful, creating a path of emotions that integrate very well with the ambient sound and the great presence of diegetic music.
A skilful mix of original music, music taken from the environment and sound design.
High school students award | Best doc
A Black Jesus, Luca Lucchesi
The members of the Special Jury, composed of students from the secondary schools Liceo Scientifico Statale Albert Einstein of Palermo, Istituto Magistrale Statale Camillo Finocchiaro Aprile of Palermo and Istituto di Istruzione Superiore Abramo Lincoln of Enna, after careful and enthusiastic viewing, chose as best documentary film for the 16th edition of the Sole Luna Doc Film Festival, A Black Jesus by Luca Lucchesi, with the following motivations:
- For the original editing and screenplay, dealing with issues such as racism and xenophobia in a revolutionary and innovative perspective, that makes the documentary engaging;
- For the great soundtrack that accompanies the whole film, composed by Roy Paci’s music, the choral presence of the town of Siculiana, showed to the audience through several and evocative faceless voices, the beautiful Sicilian typical melodies that contributed to emphasize the geographical identity of the documentary;
- For the wonderful photography that, through the alternation of medium, long shots and different camera angles, as well as the vividness of colors, describes essential aspects of the Sicilian territory and its history;
- For the choice of describing, through the contradictions of the characters, the complex relation between the new need for integration and a Sicily withdrawn into itself and its poverty, despite a tradition of cultural openness represented by the Black Jesus;
- For the value-driven director’s choice to show, with great respect for other positions, his opposition to populist and inconclusive politics that exploits other human beings as instruments of propaganda to fan the flames of racism.
High school students award | Special mention
I, Mary, Aliki Saragas-Georgiou
The members of the Special Jury give a special mention also to the documentary I, Mary by Aliki Saragas-Georgiou for the following motivations:
- For the screenplay that, through the life of Mary, a resilient and generous woman, enabled to make us, young people, aware of the difficult life for albinos in South Africa.
- For the strength of the documentary in leading the audience to question the role that traditions play within a community and their potential discriminatory consequences for some of its members.
- For the moral and existential strength of the protagonist, that makes her an example of human being able to bear the burden of discrimination and loneliness even within the family, without ever stopping the fight for creating awareness among other people suffering similar humiliations and building a world that is more respectful of human diversity.
- For the accurate and symbolic editing which, through a delicate composition of real life scenes and interviews with the protagonist, inspires a strong empathic response in the audience.
- For showing the innovative role of Internet in the girl’s life, through which Mary managed to express herself and denounce the forms of discrimination that albinos are still suffering today.
“New Italians” Jury Award – Best short doc
The golden buttons, Alex Evstigneev
The film manages to give an intimate insight into the military academy, in an original way as it surprises the viewers with soft, emotional and sensitive scenes, different from what they might expect from the personal army of Putin. The story is portrayed through the shots and frames of the photo camera, offering hidden stories and images, however easy to understand. Finally, the music complements the story and the feelings of the film.
“New Italians” Jury Award – Special mention
Memory of the land, Samira Badran
Memory of the land receives the special mention for the engaging story and the way it manages to convey the strong emotions that someone can feel in that situation. The legs become the protagonists and representatives of the world, and the story, and transmit perfectly the various emotions linked to suppression and violence.
The animations have been made very well, particularly the contrast between the cold fixed images, and the warmer ones in movement, and the balance between real images and animations. The documentary is made in such a way that it does not only represent one land, or group, but that actually, through these drawings and movements, many other stories and tragedies can be told.
Audience prize -Best Doc
The village resist, David Bert, Joris Dhert