Serbian film “Have you seen this woman?” By Mateja Glosevic and Dusan Zurić win the Black Film Critics’ Prize in Geneva. The 24th International Independent Film Festival attracted nearly 30,000 people.
The audience was present to discover 91 films from more than 50 countries that were presented during the Black Movie Festival in Geneva, which concluded its twenty-fourth session on Sunday with a total attendance of nearly 30,000 festival-goers, or only about 5,000 more in 2022.
On Sunday, organizers said the demonstration “was able to get a taste of the return to normal life after the pandemic.” But the coronavirus has expanded the festival’s approach. Almost half of the films were also shown online.
The organizers noted the “continuous” attraction of the South Korean business. Visiting Iranian and Iranian filmmakers attracted large audiences. Another success according to the organizers, Petit Black Movie appealed to young and old alike.
A film honoring a marginalized woman
The critics’ prize of 5,000 francs went to Mateja Glosevic and Dusan Zurić for their film “Have You Seen This Woman?”. A Serbian surrealist tale, this film tells the story of a lonely fifty-year-old woman who invents identities for herself to survive.
The jury notes that the film “gives a voice to a woman in her fifties, usually marginalized in our society. Directors Dušan Zurić and Mateja Glošević create an exotic setting in which they place Draginea, in a sensual and poignant manner by Ksenia Marinkovic” and adds that “this multifaceted character breaks free from the roles and mores he’s been assigned, and the film reflects his choices through a deliberately disjointed narrative.”
>> WATCH: “Have You Seen This Woman” Trailer (Audio with English Subtitles)
Of particular note was the Rwandan film Father’s Day, directed by Kivu Rohurahosa.
The Youth Prize of 1,000 francs went to the Vietnamese film Children of the Fog, directed by Ha Le Diem. Petit Black Movie, which received the same amount, received the award for the short film “Ice Merchants” by Portuguese director Joao Gonzalez.
A special memory was honored by the film “White-White Day” by Vasily Chirkov. For its part, the Children’s Prize commended the Chinese animated short film “Beyond the Fog” written by Xue Feng and Han Xu. The next edition will be held from January 19 to 28, 2024, according to the organizers.
aq with ATS
