Find out all the Biografilm 2019 awards!
The Jury of the International Competition is made up by: Lisa Nur Sultan (Jury President, screenwriter and playwright, author of SULLA MIA PELLE by Alessio Cremonini), Alberto Cazzola (band member of Lo Stato Sociale), Gianluca Neri (blogger, radio host and author television), Stephanie Owens (Documentary Programmer of the Sundance Film Festival), Claudia Rodríguez Valencia (founder of Preciosa Media, a company specializing in the creation and creative development of educational and entertainment media).
The Jury awarded the following:
- Best Film Unipol Award | Biografilm Festival 2019
Awarded by the Jury to the best film in the International Competition:
FOR SAMA by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts
Motivation: “A film that left us speechless and with no more tears to shed. It took us under the falling bombs at hospital in Aleppo, year after year to the point when there is nothing left – neither of the hospital nor the city. Our thanks go to Waad and Hamza, on behalf of humanity, for the idealism and generosity with which they fought, to the last, to stem the horror. This, by simply by getting on with what needed to be done: taking care of the wounded and bearing witness. Never backing down and teaching little Sama never to back down either. A powerful, excruciating film but at the same time full of life, love and hope for the future.”
- LifeTales Award | Biografilm Festival 2019
Awarded by the Jury to the most moving biographical story in the International Competition:
MIDNIGHT TRAVELER by Hassan Fazili
Motivation: “Midnight Traveler moved us, with the dignity and joy with which the Fazili family sought its place in the world, taking us with them on a journey where toil and danger never truly clouded over hope, nor a love for the cinema. Hassan and Fatima have crossed the borders that separate Afghanistan and Europe armed with courage and a determination to decide their own destiny, the same values with which they raised their daughters, educating them towards freedom and self-fulfilment. Their story is a testament for the search for happiness, whatever the cost.”
- Premio Hera “Nuovi Talenti” | Biografilm Festival 2019
Awarded by the Jury to the best first feature film in the International Competition:
SCHEME BIRDS by Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin
Motivation: “An impressive debut for the clarity of the film’s gaze and its narrative ability, a documentary that is capable of making us warm to its tormented characters, residents of a decadent area in the extreme outskirts of Glasgow. Loneliness and violence are portrayed with gentleness and honesty, as we follow the protagonist Gemma’s attempt to take flight. An extremely mature first work, which makes us look forward to the two directors’ next works.”
- Special Mention | Biografilm Festival 2019
Fiammetta Luino and Lina Caicedo for the research of archive material of DIEGO MARADONA by Asif Kapadia
Motivation: "The incredible repertoire research work is a monumental undertaking that requires time, passion, patience and self-sacrifice. Fiammetta Luino and Lina Caicedo have sought and found original, little-known material, also from private archives, allowing Kapadia to bring into fruition an engaging and grandiose film, that is exciting and keeps both those who are football fans and those who aren’t in suspense, giving us an original portrait of the man, the champion, of his time. "
The Biografilm Italia Jury is made up by: Costanza Quatriglio (President of the Jury, director, screenwriter and artistic director of the Experimental Center of Cinematography of Palermo), Federica Illuminati (producer for Produzioni Illuminati and member of Consorzio Officine Artistiche) and Luca Mastrogiovanni (writer, member of the Writers Room for Think Cattleya)
The Jury awarded the following:
- Best Film Yoga Award | Biografilm Italia 2019
Awarded by the Jury to the best film of Biografilm Italia:
CELLES QUI RESTENT by Ester Sparatore
Motivation: “For a film that knows how to listen to a reality unknown to most, marrying its point of view. Through long and skilful research, the director has created a film that is complex and engaging.”
- LifeTales Award | Biografilm Italia 2019
Awarded by the Jury to the most moving biographical story of Biografilm Italia:
UNA PRIMAVERA by Valentina Primavera
Motivation: “For the sheer strength of mind of Fiorella who, after a lifetime of duress, attempts to escape from the physical and mental prison of her marriage. The daughter's complicit gaze provides a mirror in which reflects the fragility and courage of so many women in every part of the world.”
- Premio Hera “Nuovi Talenti” | Biografilm Italia 2019
Awarded by the Jury to the best first feature film of Biografilm Italia:
NOCI SONANTI by Damiano Giacomelli and Lorenzo Raponi
Motivation: “For the grace with which the two filmmakers portray the relationship between a father and child in an isolated and fable like world.”
- Special Mention | Biografilm Italia 2019
ENTIERRO by Maura Morales Bergmann
LA SCOMPARSA DI MIA MADRE by Beniamino Barrese
Motivation: “For having been able to combine expert cinematography with the urgency of telling personal stories to create passionate and surprising films.”
- Premio Ucca - l’Italia che non si vede | Biografilm Italia 2019 | Storie Italiane in collaboration with Arci Ucca
Distribution award:“The Italy that you don’t see. Touring season of Cinema of the Real” and €1000 for the best film of the Biografilm Italia Competition or of the Storie Italiane section awarded by a special jury of Arci Ucca formed by: Sabrina Milani, Chiara Malerba and Angela Petruzzelli.
Motivation: “A film that is an evocation and a moving tribute. The work of Beniamino Barrese brings together passion, emotion and technique, putting into practice Buñuel's words of wisedom: 'We must take reality as if it were a dream and dreams as if they were reality'. If a film like this were born every day and a Benedetta Barzini were born every day, our imperfect world would be much less imperfect.”
The Special AVI – Associazione Videopteche Mediateche Italiane – Jury is made up by: Antonella Scarpa, Antonia Mascioli, Camilla Toschi, Fabio Pezzetti Tonion and Angela Ruzzoni.
The Jury awarded:
- AVI Award | Contemporary Lives 2019
Awarded by the Special Jury to the best film of Contemporary Lives:
ONE CHILD NATION by Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang
Motivation: “For the great courage in dealing with a theme with a strong emotional impact and powerful political and social implications through a non-judgmental gaze that does not descend to trivial pathos. The continuous intertwining and rebounding between History and the stories of ordinary people gives the story a pressing rhythm, returning a recent past that is still very much alive in the present.”
- Audience Award | Biografilm Festival 2019
Audience Award for Best Film of the International Competition:
FOR SAMA by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts
- Audience Award | Biografilm Italia 2019
Audience Award for Best Film of the Biografilm Italia Competition:
I HAD A DREAM by Claudia Tosi
- Audience Award | Biografilm Contemporary Lives 2019
Audience Award for Best Film of the Contemporary Lives section:
MEETING GORBACHEV by Werner Herzog and André Singer
- Audience Award | Biografilm Europa 2019
Audience Award for Best Film of the Biografilm Europa section:
MON BÉBÉ (SELFIE DI FAMIGLIA) by Lisa Azuelos
- Audience Award | Biografilm Art & Music 2019
Audience Award for Best Film of the Biografilm Art & Music section:
AT THE MATINÉE by Giangiacomo De Stefano
- Audience Award | Biografilm Storie Italiane 2019
Audience Award for Best Film of the Storie Italiane section:
VIVERE, CHE RISCHIO by Michele Mellara and Alessandro Rossi
- Biografilm Follower Award | Biografilm Festival 2019
Awarded by the Biografilm Follower pass holders to the most loved film:
MEETING GORBACHEV by Werner Herzog and André Singer
- Guerrilla Staff Award | Biografilm Festival 2019
Awarded by the Guerrilla Staff to the most loved film:
SHOOTING THE MAFIA by Kim Longinotto
Motivation: "The Guerrilla Staff Award for Best Film goes to SHOOTING THE MAFIA: a film born out of a contrasts-based dialectic which amazes the viewer with a narrative that is both raw and sweet at the same time. The colors of the photographs and the blackness of the mourning, the brutality of the mafia killings contrasting with the beauty of classic films that punctuate the protagonists' personal history. And then again: Letizia Battaglia, from wife and mother to free lover and daring photographer: the perfect subject for Kim Longinotto, a filmmaker always engaged in telling stories of brave women.
- Guerrilla Staff Award for Best Guest | Biografilm Festival 2019
Awarded by the Guerrilla Staff to the most popular guest at:
Werner Herzog
Motivation: The Guerrilla Staff Award for Best Guest goes to Werner Herzog: for the magnitude of his cinema, for the strength and eclecticism of the themes addressed in his films and for the charisma of his unique personality. Thanks to the sensitive examination of existential solitude and contemporary human relationships developed in FAMILY ROMANCE, LLC and the intimate and intense portrait that is MEETING GORBACHEV , we were once again struck by the titanism of charming, unforgettable images, capable of communicating with the present while prompting us to question ourselves about the future.
- Biografilm School Award | Biografilm Festival 2019
Awarded by Biografilm School to the best content:
Masterclass by Mads Brügger
Motivation: "For his ability to reveal himself to the viewer and the camera in the most truthful way. Mads Brügger: witty, exuberant, resolute, rigorous: his way of making films consistently and daringly reflects his very nature.
Prize awarded by a jury composed of 7 students of the Master’s course CITEM (Cinema, Television and Multimedia Production): Roberta Stirpe, Diana Napolitano, Kabir Yusuf Abukar, Francesca Valdinoci, Lisa Spreafico, Alberto Bajardi and Elena Costa.
- CITEM Award | Biografilm Europa 2019
CITEM Award for Best Film in the Biografilm Europa section
LE MYSTÈRE HENRI PICK by Rémi Bezançon
Motivation: "For the skillful way of playing with genre codes, between mystery and comedy, with brio, humor and intelligence, prompting stimulating thoughts on art and fiction: mystification is an unceasing requirement to achieve not only success, but also authenticity of emotions. A note of credit goes to its leading actor, who was able to embody, with passion and dedication, the spirit of the film.
