20-03-2017

FNE at Sofia IFF 2017: Godless Wins the 21st Sofia International Film Festival

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    Godless by Ralitza Petrova Godless by Ralitza Petrova

    SOFIA: Ralitza Petrova’s debut feature Godless won the Grand Prix of the international competition at the 21st Sofia International Film Festival (9-19 March 2017). The Bulgarian/Danish/French coproduction was also awarded best Bulgarian film.

    Peter Valchanov and Kristina Grozeva’s second feature Glory was awarded best Balkan film, while Iglika Triffonova’s Lift for Patients grabbed the audience award. Sofia IFF organises an international competition for first and sophomore feature films.

    Krzysztof Zanussi, Agnieszka Holland, Hugh Hudson, John Savage and Rupert Everett were among the honorary guests of the festival.

    According to Stefan Kitanov, director of the festival, “a total of 170 films from 58 countries and over 280 guests participated in the numerous programmes of the festival”.

    The 14th edition of the Sofia Meetings introduced a new industry award for best Bulgarian project. The prize consisting of 1,500 EUR / 3,000 BNG went to Andrey Paunov’s January. Sofia based Nu Boyana Studios offered the best project award in the main section constisting of 50,000 EUR in services and 5,000 EUR in cash to The Tentmaster’s Daughter (UK) directed by Isabel Anderton.

    FULL LIST OF WINNERS:

    INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION:

    Sofia City Grand Prix:
    Godless (Bulgaria, Denmark, France)
    Directed by Ralitza Petrova
    Produced by Klas Film
    Coproduced by Snow Globe, Alcatraz Films, Film Factory production
    Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center, Danish Film Institute, Eurimages

    Lidl Audience Award for Best Foreign Film:
    Sing Street (Ireland, United Kingdom, USA)
    Directed by John Carney

    Lidl Audience Award for Best Bulgarian Film:
    Lift for Patients (Bulgaria)
    Directed by Iglika Triffonova
    Produced by Klas Film
    Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center,

    Special Jury Award:
    The Last Family (Poland)
    Directed by Jan P. Matuszynski
    Produced by Aurum Film
    Coproduced by HBO Polska, Lightcraft, Universal Music Polska
    Supported by the Polish Film Institute

    Best Director:
    Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß for My Happy Family (Germany, Georgia, France)
    Produced by Augenschein Filmproduktion (Germany)
    Coproduced by Polare Film, Arizona Productions
    Supported by the Georgian National Film Center

    Special Mention:
    Mia Petričević for her role in Quit Staring at My Plate (Croatia, Denmark)
    Directed by Hana Jusić
    Produced by Kinorama
    Coproduced by the Croatian Television, Beofilm
    Supported by the Croatian Audiovisual Center, the Danish Film Institute, Eurimages

    Jameson Award for Best Bulgarian Short Film:
    Clothes (Bulgaria)
    Directed by Vesselin Boydev
    Produced by Contrast films
    Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center

    Special Mention Jameson Award:
    Travelling Country (Bulgaria, Croatia)
    Directed by Vessela Dantcheva, Ivan Bogdanov
    Produced by Compote Collective
    Coproduced by Bonobostudio

    Best Documentary:
    Tempest (Mexico)
    Directed by Tatiana Huezo

    Special Mention Documentary:
    Village People (Bulgaria)
    Directed by Tsvetan Dragnev
    Produced by Gala Films

    Domaine Boyar Award for Best Balkan Film:
    Glory (Bulgaria, Greece)
    Directed by Kristina Grozeva & Petar Valchanov
    Produced by Abraxas Film
    Coproduced by Graal Film
    Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center, the Greek Film Centre

    Special Mention Balkan Film:
    Claire Obscure (Turkey, Germany, Poland, France)
    Directed by Yeşim Ustaoğlu
    Produced by Ustaoglu Production, unafilm, Aeroplan, Slot Machine

    Bulgarian Guild of Film Critics Award Balkan Film:
    Glory (Bulgaria, Greece)
    Directed by Kristina Grozeva & Petar Valchanov
    Produced by Abraxas Film
    Coproduced by Graal Film
    Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center, the Greek Film Centre

    Best Bulgarian Feature Film:
    Godless (Bulgaria, Denmark)
    Directed by Ralitza Petrova
    Produced by Klas Film
    Coproduced by Snow Globe
    Supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center, the Danish Film Institute, Eurimages

    FIPRESCI Award:
    Requiem for Mrs. J. (Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia) with the financial participation of Russia and France
    Directed by Bojan Vuletic
    Produced by See Film Pro
    Coproduced by Geopoly Film, Skopje Film Studio
    Supported by Film Center Serbia, the Bulgarian National Film Center, the Macedonian Film Agency, CNC France, Eurimages

    Young Jury Award:
    Groom’s Block (Turkey, UK)
    Directed by İlker Savaşkurt

    Sofia Municipality Awards for Contribution to World Cinema:
    Stoyanka Moutafova (Bulgaria)
    Agnieszka Holland (Poland)
    John Savage (USA)
    Adela Peeva (Bulgaria)

    SOFIA MEETINGS AWARDS:

    Nu Boyana Film Studios Danny Lerner Award for best project in the main section:
    Tentmaster’s Daughter (UK)
    Directed by Isabel Anderton

    Lidl Bulgaria Award for best Bulgarian project:
    January (Bulgaria)
    Directed by Andrey Paunov
    Produced by Portokal

    Focusfox Studio (Hungary) Award of 10 000 Euro in post production services:
    Love Your Neighbor (Israel)
    Directed by Sharon Bar Ziv

    EastWest Filmdistribution Award:
    One And a Half Prince (Romania)
    Directed by Ana Lungu
    Produced by Mandragora

    Young Producer Award of Yapimlab (Turkey):
    Dust (Bulgaria)
    Directed by Ralitza Petrova
    Produced by Aporia Filmworks, Screening Emotions

    Mediterranean Film Institute award
    PLAGUE (Czech Republic)
    directed by Jan Těšitel
    produced by Petra Oplatkova (Sirena Film)