The Awards’ motivations:
FEATURE FILMS
Motivations by the jurors Gaia Formenti and Pierfrancesco Li Donni
Best Feature Film
En busca de l’Oscar / Searching for Oscar
by Octavio Guerra Quevedo (Spain, 2018, 72′)
For a surgical, vivid and precise framing and editing, for the freshness of the story and the bitter-sweet irony, always balancing between identification and rejection, for an acute portrayal of a man at the end of his career, trying to make old age a provocative manifesto. So that Oscar can be persecuted as he wishes, and last but not least, for the magnificent poster of the film… The prize for best film goes to “En busca de l’Oscar” (“Searching for Oscar”) by Octavio Guerra.
Special Mentions Feature Films
Malacqua
by Giuseppe Crudele (Italy, 2019, 65’)
For the intimacy of the story, the cleanliness of the images, the attentive and skillful design that follows reality, for the ability to create intimacy with the characters and to tell the story of life that pulsates in unexpected forms, a microcosm of things and gestures that resists even the haziest, horizonless landscape. For the simplicity of a film where the search for a second-hand car is the heart of the story, and where work becomes a character, the great off-screen absent element that is not waiting for us, but determines us, the special mention goes to “Malacqua” by Giuseppe Crudele.
Sisterhood
by Takashi Nishihara (Japan, 2019, 87’)
Through the development of a device that moves skillfully between reality and fiction, the director portrays a silent, variable world that shows the fragility of a generation that is ready to experience change every day. The female universe, the real protagonist of the film, becomes the centre of the entire narrative thanks to the skillful representation of the man-woman relationship, which is constantly characterised by uncertainties and clumsiness; all of this is told by the director through the use of the main actor as his own alter-ego. For these reasons the special mention of the fifth edition of the Working Title Film Festival goes to “Sisterhood” by Takashi Nishihara
SHORT FILMS +
Motivations by the jurors Francesca Bertin and Thanos Psichogios
Best Short Film +
For Your Sake
by Ronja Hemm (Germany, 2019, 38’)
Two young sisters return from Kathmandu to visit their home village. The observation of the time spent together with their mother and grandmother
becomes a moment of reflection on the great changes that have occurred in Nepalese society in recent years, now fully globalized. With a particular sensitivity and refinement in the cinematic gaze, the documentary is a moving, visually arresting insight into the lives and the struggles of three generations of Nepalese women.
Special Mentions Short Films +
Lugar Algum / No Place
by Gabriel Amaral (Brazil, 2019, 23’)
Nego’s hopes to settle down for good collapse when his boss decides to sell to tourists the land he has been working on for years. As he is forced to let go of his dreams, he must gather the strength to start over. An unflinching yet tender film about a man’s efforts to retain his dignity as his life takes a turn for the worse.
Cum inalti un zmeu? / How To Fly A Kite?
by Loránd Gábor (Romania, 2018, 27’)
“How to fly a kite” stands out for its ability to create suspense through a minimal set and great attention to small gestures, capable of translating the violence suffered by those who are too often on the margins of our society into a cinematic experience — a hard-hitting social drama about the constant battle of the underprivileged to survive.
SHORT FILMS
Motivations by the jurors Hannah Weissenborn and Sorayos Prapapan
Best Short Film
Of Not Such Great Importance
by Benjamin Deboosere (Belgium, Mexico, 2019, 20’)
To a film that reflects in a very sensitive way the impact of globalization on the younger generations, on relationships, and on the family. The film observes without too many words, but with a cinematic way of using sound and the composition of the image and points out the absurd absence of what we miss of our home country whenever we leave to search for a better life somewhere else. We are very happy to give the award for the Best Short Film of Working Title Film Festival 2020 to “Of not such great importance” by Benjamin Deboosere. Congratulations.
Special Mention Short Films
Ashmina
by Dekel Berenson (UK, Nepal, 2018, 15’)
“For the film that explores the difficult life of a young female worker who worked hard and honestly in the tourist business, but received unfair income.
The film not only points out the worker’s rights but also mentions the struggle of being a woman in a society that doesn’t allow gender equality, including how society treats the younger generations. We are extremely happy to give a special mention to “Ashmina” by Dekel Berenson. Congratulations.
EXTRAWORKS
Motivations by the jurors Maite Abella and Perla Sardella
Best Extraworks Film
Waiting Working Hours
by Ben De Raes (Belgium, 2019, 16’)
A story of displacement, the film explores and unfolds personal narratives, giving voice to isolated workers and groups of workers on the street. With an intimate short film, the director captures the dramatic consequences of the decline of jobs and the deep traces of migration. In this silent struggle, the feeling of hopelessness is juxtaposed with local images taken from Google Street View. The film delves into human misery to visualise the current society from a working-class perspective.
Special Mention Extraworks
Var-hami
by Ilaria Pezone (Italy, 2020, 40’)
Portrait about a mentalist filmed straightforward, with an almost snapshot-like style of photography. This directness is used by I. Pezone as a way to stretch the boundaries of the film. Her preference for unpolished images, technically “imperfect” is consistent with the subject presented: the character -the mentalist- is also urgent and spontaneous. The author questions his veracity, therefore we witness a film about the desperate desire to understand, to reach out to the personage.