The Jury of the INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA competition at 10th Bif&st, headed by British film critic Derek Malcolm with Alberto Crespi, Giuliana De Sio, Salvatore Maira and Grazyna Torbicka, has conferred the following awards:
Bif&st International Award for Best Film Director to ALI VATANSEVER
for the Turkish film SAF. Inspired by renowned models, ranging from Italian neo-realism to the cinema of Ken Loach, this young filmmaker depicts the world of labor and Turkish neo-capitalism as a perennial battle of the have-nots, highlighting the human and social dramas of both Turkish workers and Syrian immigrants. Set in the Asian part of Istanbul, the film actually becomes a portrait of contemporary Europe.
Bif&st International Award for Best Leading Actress to TRINE DYRHOLM
for the Danish film QUEEN OF HEARTS (DRONNINGEN) by May el-Toukhy. For her performance as a woman, wife and mother, who goes against her own social roles, overwhelmed by a conscious yet unstoppable desire. Winner of many awards for “The Commune” by Thomas Vinterberg and for “Nico, 1988” by Susanna Nicchiarelli, Trine Dyrholm is once again confirmed, with this role, as one of the greatest and important European actresses.
Bif&st International Award for Best Leading Actor to SEU JORGE
for the Brazilian film MARIGHELLA by Wagner Moura. Jorge, a beloved pop singer in his home country, transforms himself with true physical and psychological adhesion into an historical figure, Carlos Marighella, poet and guerrilla, who fought the military dictatorship and its bloodshed during the 1960s. A character, and a film, which in today’s Brazil become a political act, both brave and necessary.
The artistic direction of Bif&st has autonomously conferred a
Special Mention to the actress MARTINA APOSTOLOVA
for the Bulgarian film IRINA by Nadejda Koseva. She gives life to a character that crosses the film as a force of nature, and that will be hard to forget.