Festival internazionale Segni della Notte - Urbino |
International Festival Signs of the Night - Urbino |
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18° Festival internazionale Segni della Notte - Urbino (4° Editione) - March 24th - 28th, 2021
ONLINE EDITION9 |
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The Present |
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Farah Nabulsi |
Palestine / 2019 / 0:24:16 |
On his wedding anniversary, Yusef and his daughter, Yasmine, set out in the West Bank to buy his wife a gift. Between the soldiers, segregated roads and checkpoints, how easy would it be to go shopping?
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JURY STATEMENT:
‘The Present’ is a deeply moving and impactful film, drawing us in to a concise and focussed narrative with empathy and realism. With natural performances by the actors, the film sensitively frames a domestic, private world with the harsh realities of a life lived under occupation.
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Lake Of Happiness |
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Aliaksei Paluyan |
Germany, Belarus, Spain / 2019 / 0:29:00 |
In a small Belarusian village where time seems to stand still, Jasja, a 9‐year‐old girl, has to deal with her mother’s death. Her father decides to send her to an orphanage. But one day she decides to run away, home.
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JURY STATEMENT:
`Lake of Happiness’ is a simple but very emotional story about a child abandoned by adults, who has the courage to make mature decision. It presents an effective combination of reserve and warmth in portraying a child's world.
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DIRECTOR STATEMENT:
I am very happy to get this Special mentions for my film. It’s very personal and honest film, based on the children experience of my father.
So, I am very grateful, that the jury highly appreciated the film and read my sincere message to the viewer. I wanted to tell the drama about a strong person who at the age of 9 dares to build his own way. Not every adult is ready for this choice, but Jasja was able to.
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SIGNS AWARD
The Signs Award honours films, which treat an important subject in an original and convincing way
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The Van |
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Erenik Beqiri |
Albania, France / 2019 / 0:15:00 |
The Van finally stops, the doors open and the Son comes out alive. A few more fights and he will be able to pay his way out of Albania, and hopefully, take his Father with him..
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JURY STATEMENT:
The Van’ successfully depicts an emotional and powerful story, presenting the cruelty and tragic fate of life, as well as unconditional familial love. Both brutal and tender, it leaves us with the question: to what extent would one be able to sacrifice in the pursuit of an ideal life?
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DIRECTOR STATEMENT:
When you are stuck in a place that only puts walls in front of you, the only way out is to smash through them, an action that also brings consequences, in this case, both physical and mental. I believe that one way to measure the extent of one's sacrifice comes down through the manifestation of love, which becomes at the same time, fuel and medicine to heal the pain and push forwards!
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NIGHT AWARD
The Night Award honours films, which are able to balance ambiguity and complexity characterized by enigmatic mysteriousness and subtleness, which keeps mind and consideration moving
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Touiza |
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Karim Bengana |
Algeria, France / 2019 / 00:29:12 |
In 1995, during the Algerian civil War, Touiza, Madame’s dog dies. Yasmine, her maid has to leave supposedly to visit her aunt. Afraid to be alone, Madam will do anything to have her stay.
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JURY STATEMENT:
‘Touiza’ creates an ambiguous and complicated relationship between two women, living together but coming from two different worlds and cultures. It presents an interesting and thought-provoking perspective on the lines between those cultures, and on the impossibility of understanding strangeness and discordance.
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DIRECTOR STATEMENT:
In this film, I wanted the audience to feel the dead ends of communication between two people, show the "prisons" that are imposed on us and that we create for ourselves by lack of words and empathy. I especially appreciated that you accept the ambiguity of my characters, that you do not label them definitively by evading their political and social situation. I’m almost happy that you do not consider Touiza as an apology of terrorism… A reflection that I have too often heard from the mouths of film selectors around the world…
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JURY AWARD
FOR HYBRID DOCUMENTARY APPROACH
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Bella |
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Thelyia Petraki |
Greece / 2020 / 0:24:25 |
Greece 1986-1987, a little before the fall of State Socialism and just at the end of the Cold War. In front of Anthi’s eyes the country is changing, the world is changing and with them Christos seems to be changing too.
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JURY STATEMENT:
‘Bella’ presents an interesting and effective combination of the personal and the political. With an anthropological, hybrid documentary approach, the director captures an honest and diaristic account of a woman’s experience, at a time of great social change.
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DIRECTOR STATEMENT:
Bella is about the 80s generation, the one holding great expectations and ideals that our world could be a better place for everyone. A generation that eventually gave up on their dream, realizing that nothing or noone is able to change the world, passing this disappointment and bitterness to the newer generation who grew up being indifferent and cynical about ideals and a higher purpose in life.
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