The winning films of the First Crossings section have been announced
Yesterday at 8 PM, an awards ceremony took place at Mostovna in Nova Gorica as part of the competitive program Prvi Poleti, marking the conclusion of the cross-border film festival Tribute to a Vision. The main prize was awarded to Quirijn Dees for his film Pubert Jimbob, which convinced the international jury composed of Ionut Mares, Olga Toni, and Piera Nodari. A special jury mention went to the film The Ghosts You Draw on My Back (original title: "Duhovi na mojim ledjima"), directed by Nikola Stojanović. The Young Audience Award was presented by Milica Cvetković, a representative of the youth from Nova Gorica High School. The youth chose the film Hurikán by Czech director Jan Sasko as their winner, captivated by its unique animation and powerful message.
Below you can read the jury's argumentations.
Grand Prix
The jury of the First Crossings section of this 25th edition of the cross-border film festival Tribute to a Vision, despite the difficulty of having to award just one prize, wanted to reward innovation and new cinematographic language. The winning short film, in addition to embodying a portrait of the latest generation, it's full of narrative and aesthetic uniqueness, it entertains the audience through a brilliant and open sense of humor, with a surprising plot and a universal message of understanding and support.
The award goes to Quirijn Dees for Pubert Jimbob
Special mention
The special mention goes to the film The ghosts you draw on my back by the director Nikola Stojanović. In its very strong narration, the film shows a different layer of physical and mental pain and struggle, of a young girl, influenced by the dysfunctional family dynamic. In this story of coming of age, where the main character is coping with the awakening of sexuality, the director is also using the medium of still photography with its blurred, out of focus texture and colours, that erase the memories that marked her path. The raw visual narration creates a special film space that allows tactile cinematic experience in the quest for healing.
Young Audience Award
The film Hurikán that I watched evoked a range of emotions in me. I found it funny that the main character is half-human, half-pig, but later I understood why he is like that. Although the events can be humorous, they are also sad at the same time. The pig's head represents the main character as ugly and insignificant, and he is aware of that too. That’s why he thought that if he brought the beer to the woman who asked him, she would think of him in a better way. Unfortunately, by the end of the film, he wasn’t able to help her, but he did help himself, as he had gone through a lot during the story – all because he couldn’t get a beer.
Milica Cvetković, representative of the Young Audience from Gimnazija Nova Gorica
