Quietly disturbing and thoughtfully insightful about the evil mankind is capable of, Chilean auteur Alejandro Fernández Almendras’ To Kill a Man has stroke a chord with festival goers and jurors across the globe. The film, which deals with a man pushed to commit a crime by a vengeful crook, premiered at Sundance this past January where it was awarded the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize. Fernandez Almendras, whose previous films include Huacho and Seated by the Fire, seems to have finally reached a level of international exposure with a small film that carries important social commentary about masculinity, violence, and guilt. In this in-depth interview the director talked to us about the origin of the story, the complex themes behind the plot, and the uncomfortable emotions his film can create on the audience.
Read the review Here
To Kill a Man has received the following awards:
Sundance Film Festival 2014: World Cinema Grand Jury Prize- Dramatic
Rotterdam Film Festival 2014: Knf Award
Miami Film Festival 2014: Miami Future Cinema Critics Award
Cartagena International Film Festival: Fipresci Award for Best Film/ Official Competition Award for Best Director
Carlos Aguilar: The events that set in motion the plot of “To Kill a Man” can seem simple on the surface, but you embedded the film with many existential concepts. Where did these come from?
Alejandro Fernandez Almendras: Well, the real story on which I based my film was a very simple story. It was terrible for the family that lived it, but it was a very common story, at least in Chile. It was about a family in which the father was a diabetic, and there was a neighborhood criminal known by everybody who one day robes the father. Then when his son tries to recover his blood sugar meter, the thief, who ends up in prison for a brief period of time, shoots him. Once he is out after 1 or 2 years, the criminal starts threatening the family to seek revenge for the time he did in prison, which he thinks he didn’t deserve since the son was the one who went to his house.
The concept of being helpless in front of justice was very interesting to me to start working around it. What pushed me to make this film, and what caught my attention when I heard the story, was that all the events were described from the family’s point of view and the father’s point of view. After the final crime, which was a bit different to how it is portrayed in the film, they ask the father, now in prison himself, if he would do the same again given the circumstances. He answered he wouldn’t under no circumstances because now he knows how it feels to kill someone and he understands how terrible it is. The personal price he had to pay was that the moral guilt was too much for him. I found that very compelling and that’s why I decided to make the film.
Aguilar: The line between the killer and the victim is blurred in the film. The person who starts being victimized takes on the role of the punisher. Although it is a terrifying idea, would you say that anyone is capable of killing given the right circumstances?
Fernandez Almendras: I think so given the context. I believe that the character of Jorge was pushed to commit the crime rather than being something that existed in him naturally. The dangerous thing about crime is that it is sometimes justified when it is seen as the only possible solution. Those are the types of crimes that are hard to explain legally. They are complicated cases, it is not as simple as to say that the guy did it out evilness, but he did it almost justifiably, yet, what he did was worse than what the actual career criminal Kalule was doing or threatening to do. He doesn’t rape his daughter or hurt them physically, it is more about the fear that he imposed on them than anything he actually did. On the other hand, Jorge ends up being crueler and much more violent than what he looked like. The film aims to place the viewer in a situation that is morally uncomfortable. If one defends the protagonist, Jorge, which is what the film does in the first half, you end up justifying a terrible crime in the second half.
Aguilar: Another aspect that is prominent is the questioning of Jorge’s masculinity. It seems as if he feels he has to prove it by defending his family and standing up to this bully, even if this means taking drastic measure. Was that part of your process while creating the character?
Fernandez Almendras: Sure. There is this image in film and the media of a rugged macho man who protects his family. In the film his son, his wife and his daughter they point out that he is not fulfilling that role as a man. He feels forced to be that man. What the film also deals with is the fact that many decisions like this have to do with what is perceived as being the right thing to do, even if it means committing a crime. Morally, many people justify it. They think, “What else is there to do? He has no other choice” However, by saying that you are justifying a crime. It is interesting to explore that and to make the audience face both sides of the same coin.
Aguilar: The family seeks help from the authorities, but it feels like in the midst of al the bureaucracy they are left helpless. Is there are a flaw in the judicial system, not only in Chile, but everywhere, to deal with situations like the one on the film?
Fernandez Almendras: I believe that in terms of the film, the system functions very efficiently given the lack of resources and the circumstances I feel the family gets treated well. It was my intention to not highlight the bureaucracy, but despite my efforts it is still noticeable because there is an institutional inability to deal with a situations like these. There are also issues like these with those situations that involve domestic violence. The husband could threaten the wife in many occasions, but they can’t ask for a restraining order, or to fine him, or even to hold him for some days because you can’t punish a crime before it is committed. One can’t punish a dead threat as if it was a murder. Otherwise we would live in a completely schizophrenic society, one in which thinking of something would be enough to be arrested, and that’s even worse.
The law can reach a certain point, and after that point instead of being left vulnerable by the law, the law leaves it to your own judgment. That’s the interesting part, when there is no judicial, protection, not because the institution doesn’t want to provide it but because it can’t reach that gray area. The family is forced to make very difficult decisions, but perhaps other choices would have been better in the long run. They could have moved apartments, or moved to another city, start again, and maybe admit that they lost to this evil character. But it would be looked down upon by others “Why do they have to leave if they didn’t do anything?” Well sometimes you cross paths with a person like this and you can’t do anything. Justifying a family that doesn’t want to leave the neighborhood because someone is threatening them is the same argument that one could use to ask why a woman doesn’t leave the house when the husband threatens her. In the case of a mistreated woman we assume that against such violence there is nothing to do but to leave. In this case, many people keep on defending the idea that one has to stand his ground, and it has to do with the fact that he is a man.
People think that if you let yourself be undermined by another man you are not man enough. I’m absolutely convinced that domestic violence in which a woman is the abuser towards the man is much more prominent than what we think or find in surveys. Because from the get-go, to say that your woman mistreats you is like admitting that you are not a man, especially in Latin American societies. Certainly these are perennially male-chauvinist societies, but a woman can still inflict great psychological violence on a man. In my film I feel like the female character is to an extent very violent towards the protagonist. She pushes him to the edge, she tells him he is not good enough, then she divorces him, I believe this is also very real.
Aguilar: Being a Latin American director, how has your experience at international festivals been? Your film has been so well received, and you have won several awards in a short time.
Fernandez Almendras: First, the decision to go to Sundance was taken because we felt that it is a film that can work in the American market, in fact we got distribution at Sundance. The film will be released by Film Movement in the U.S. and Canada in the Fall. It’s a film that has certain genre elements, and there is great tension, which are qualities that I think help the film. Showing it to American audiences will be very helpful for the film, and for myself in the future steps I want to take as a filmmaker.
Aguilar: Would you ever considered making a film in Hollywood? Or perhaps make a film with a greater budget and more exposure?
Fernandez Almendras: I would like to work with perhaps a bigger budget but never at the level of a blockbuster, which is something very “Hollywood”. The obstacles would be too many, and I don’t think Hollywood is interested is something so strange as what I do. Even being something like “To Kill a Man” that connects with audiences, in formal terms, it is not a common film. Hollywood budgets come with many artistic compromises. In Hollywood no one can stand 20 minutes without dialogue. [Laughs)
Aguilar: Are there any American filmmakers that have influenced your work?
Fernandez Almendras: I watched a lot of American films when I started liking cinema, around the 90s. It was mostly American cinema from the 60s and 70s when there was like a re-founding of classic American cinema and the emergence of filmmaker like Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Coppola, or the psychological thrillers of Alan Pakula , those were very important influences at the time.
Aguilar: Why do you think your film has connected with the diverse jurors throughout the film’s festival run?
Fernandez Almendras: Just like with my two previous films, I’ve always thought my films are not cryptic. They are films that the audience won’t understand or that they are going to have a hard time connecting to them. They are films that demand a certain attention. Especially the other two, this one I feel is a bit more open. I think people respond to “To Kill a Man” because in its own way, it’s a film that works. When it needs to create tension there is tension, when it needs to create suspense there is suspense, when it needs a particular emotion it is there. It is a visceral film that works, although the way in which it reaches those emotions is different from what many viewers might be used to.
Aguilar: What are your future projects? What will follow the success of “To Kill a Man”?
Fernandez Almendras: I’m looking into several possibilities. I have two finished scripts, one of them is much more lighthearted, sort of a comedy with a lot of music which I’d like to make in the south of Chile. The other is a tad bigger; it is a political thriller that deals with the crash between the mining industry and environmentalist groups. Both of these are well on their way, I need to find financing this year and see which one of them happens first.
Read the review Here
To Kill a Man has received the following awards:
Sundance Film Festival 2014: World Cinema Grand Jury Prize- Dramatic
Rotterdam Film Festival 2014: Knf Award
Miami Film Festival 2014: Miami Future Cinema Critics Award
Cartagena International Film Festival: Fipresci Award for Best Film/ Official Competition Award for Best Director
Carlos Aguilar: The events that set in motion the plot of “To Kill a Man” can seem simple on the surface, but you embedded the film with many existential concepts. Where did these come from?
Alejandro Fernandez Almendras: Well, the real story on which I based my film was a very simple story. It was terrible for the family that lived it, but it was a very common story, at least in Chile. It was about a family in which the father was a diabetic, and there was a neighborhood criminal known by everybody who one day robes the father. Then when his son tries to recover his blood sugar meter, the thief, who ends up in prison for a brief period of time, shoots him. Once he is out after 1 or 2 years, the criminal starts threatening the family to seek revenge for the time he did in prison, which he thinks he didn’t deserve since the son was the one who went to his house.
The concept of being helpless in front of justice was very interesting to me to start working around it. What pushed me to make this film, and what caught my attention when I heard the story, was that all the events were described from the family’s point of view and the father’s point of view. After the final crime, which was a bit different to how it is portrayed in the film, they ask the father, now in prison himself, if he would do the same again given the circumstances. He answered he wouldn’t under no circumstances because now he knows how it feels to kill someone and he understands how terrible it is. The personal price he had to pay was that the moral guilt was too much for him. I found that very compelling and that’s why I decided to make the film.
Aguilar: The line between the killer and the victim is blurred in the film. The person who starts being victimized takes on the role of the punisher. Although it is a terrifying idea, would you say that anyone is capable of killing given the right circumstances?
Fernandez Almendras: I think so given the context. I believe that the character of Jorge was pushed to commit the crime rather than being something that existed in him naturally. The dangerous thing about crime is that it is sometimes justified when it is seen as the only possible solution. Those are the types of crimes that are hard to explain legally. They are complicated cases, it is not as simple as to say that the guy did it out evilness, but he did it almost justifiably, yet, what he did was worse than what the actual career criminal Kalule was doing or threatening to do. He doesn’t rape his daughter or hurt them physically, it is more about the fear that he imposed on them than anything he actually did. On the other hand, Jorge ends up being crueler and much more violent than what he looked like. The film aims to place the viewer in a situation that is morally uncomfortable. If one defends the protagonist, Jorge, which is what the film does in the first half, you end up justifying a terrible crime in the second half.
Aguilar: Another aspect that is prominent is the questioning of Jorge’s masculinity. It seems as if he feels he has to prove it by defending his family and standing up to this bully, even if this means taking drastic measure. Was that part of your process while creating the character?
Fernandez Almendras: Sure. There is this image in film and the media of a rugged macho man who protects his family. In the film his son, his wife and his daughter they point out that he is not fulfilling that role as a man. He feels forced to be that man. What the film also deals with is the fact that many decisions like this have to do with what is perceived as being the right thing to do, even if it means committing a crime. Morally, many people justify it. They think, “What else is there to do? He has no other choice” However, by saying that you are justifying a crime. It is interesting to explore that and to make the audience face both sides of the same coin.
Aguilar: The family seeks help from the authorities, but it feels like in the midst of al the bureaucracy they are left helpless. Is there are a flaw in the judicial system, not only in Chile, but everywhere, to deal with situations like the one on the film?
Fernandez Almendras: I believe that in terms of the film, the system functions very efficiently given the lack of resources and the circumstances I feel the family gets treated well. It was my intention to not highlight the bureaucracy, but despite my efforts it is still noticeable because there is an institutional inability to deal with a situations like these. There are also issues like these with those situations that involve domestic violence. The husband could threaten the wife in many occasions, but they can’t ask for a restraining order, or to fine him, or even to hold him for some days because you can’t punish a crime before it is committed. One can’t punish a dead threat as if it was a murder. Otherwise we would live in a completely schizophrenic society, one in which thinking of something would be enough to be arrested, and that’s even worse.
The law can reach a certain point, and after that point instead of being left vulnerable by the law, the law leaves it to your own judgment. That’s the interesting part, when there is no judicial, protection, not because the institution doesn’t want to provide it but because it can’t reach that gray area. The family is forced to make very difficult decisions, but perhaps other choices would have been better in the long run. They could have moved apartments, or moved to another city, start again, and maybe admit that they lost to this evil character. But it would be looked down upon by others “Why do they have to leave if they didn’t do anything?” Well sometimes you cross paths with a person like this and you can’t do anything. Justifying a family that doesn’t want to leave the neighborhood because someone is threatening them is the same argument that one could use to ask why a woman doesn’t leave the house when the husband threatens her. In the case of a mistreated woman we assume that against such violence there is nothing to do but to leave. In this case, many people keep on defending the idea that one has to stand his ground, and it has to do with the fact that he is a man.
People think that if you let yourself be undermined by another man you are not man enough. I’m absolutely convinced that domestic violence in which a woman is the abuser towards the man is much more prominent than what we think or find in surveys. Because from the get-go, to say that your woman mistreats you is like admitting that you are not a man, especially in Latin American societies. Certainly these are perennially male-chauvinist societies, but a woman can still inflict great psychological violence on a man. In my film I feel like the female character is to an extent very violent towards the protagonist. She pushes him to the edge, she tells him he is not good enough, then she divorces him, I believe this is also very real.
Aguilar: Being a Latin American director, how has your experience at international festivals been? Your film has been so well received, and you have won several awards in a short time.
Fernandez Almendras: First, the decision to go to Sundance was taken because we felt that it is a film that can work in the American market, in fact we got distribution at Sundance. The film will be released by Film Movement in the U.S. and Canada in the Fall. It’s a film that has certain genre elements, and there is great tension, which are qualities that I think help the film. Showing it to American audiences will be very helpful for the film, and for myself in the future steps I want to take as a filmmaker.
Aguilar: Would you ever considered making a film in Hollywood? Or perhaps make a film with a greater budget and more exposure?
Fernandez Almendras: I would like to work with perhaps a bigger budget but never at the level of a blockbuster, which is something very “Hollywood”. The obstacles would be too many, and I don’t think Hollywood is interested is something so strange as what I do. Even being something like “To Kill a Man” that connects with audiences, in formal terms, it is not a common film. Hollywood budgets come with many artistic compromises. In Hollywood no one can stand 20 minutes without dialogue. [Laughs)
Aguilar: Are there any American filmmakers that have influenced your work?
Fernandez Almendras: I watched a lot of American films when I started liking cinema, around the 90s. It was mostly American cinema from the 60s and 70s when there was like a re-founding of classic American cinema and the emergence of filmmaker like Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Coppola, or the psychological thrillers of Alan Pakula , those were very important influences at the time.
Aguilar: Why do you think your film has connected with the diverse jurors throughout the film’s festival run?
Fernandez Almendras: Just like with my two previous films, I’ve always thought my films are not cryptic. They are films that the audience won’t understand or that they are going to have a hard time connecting to them. They are films that demand a certain attention. Especially the other two, this one I feel is a bit more open. I think people respond to “To Kill a Man” because in its own way, it’s a film that works. When it needs to create tension there is tension, when it needs to create suspense there is suspense, when it needs a particular emotion it is there. It is a visceral film that works, although the way in which it reaches those emotions is different from what many viewers might be used to.
Aguilar: What are your future projects? What will follow the success of “To Kill a Man”?
Fernandez Almendras: I’m looking into several possibilities. I have two finished scripts, one of them is much more lighthearted, sort of a comedy with a lot of music which I’d like to make in the south of Chile. The other is a tad bigger; it is a political thriller that deals with the crash between the mining industry and environmentalist groups. Both of these are well on their way, I need to find financing this year and see which one of them happens first.
- 4/9/2014
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
During today's Awards Ceremony in de Doelen (Rotterdam), the winners of Iffr’s nineteenth Hivos Tiger Awards Competition, as well as of the second Big Screen Award Competition and of the Netpac, Fipresci, Knf, and MovieZone awards were announced. Tomorrow Saturday, 1 February the festival audience favorites will be awarded the Upc Audience Award for best festival film and the Dioraphte Award for best Hubert Bals Fund-supported film.
Hivos Tiger Awards
Fifteen first or second films by talented filmmakers from around the globe competed in the 2014 Hivos Tiger Awards Competition. The Jury consisted of distinguished filmmaker Elia Suleiman; celebrated Dutch filmmaker Nanouk Leopold, Indonesian filmmaker and former Tiger Award nominee Edwin; Violeta Bava, Bafici programmer and film producer from Argentina and Japanese actress and producer Kiki Sugino. Each Hivos Tiger Award comes with a prize of €15,000 for the filmmaker.
The winners of the three equal Hivos Tiger Awards 2014 are:
Anatomy of a Paper Clip (Yamamori clip koujo no atari)
by Ikeda Akira (Japan, 2013)
“Challenging narrative form with precision and economy, this film elevates observations of the absurd in human behavior, and brings it into the poetic domain.”
Ikeda Akira (1976, Japan) began to make his own short films while studying English literature at Bunkyo University. After being involved in various fields such as theatre, music and dance, he directed his first feature-length film The Blue Monkey in 2006. Anatomy of a Paper Clip is his second feature.
Something Must Break (Nånting måste gå sönder)
by Ester Martin Bergsmark (Sweden, 2014)
“A free-floating personal voyage traces the pains and pleasures of intimacy, recounted in a tender depiction of characters, with a sincere and playful use of cinematographic language.”
Ester Martin Bergsmark (1982, Sweden) trained at the Swedish University College of Arts, Crafts and Design. Together with Mark Hammarberg he made the award-winning documentary Maggie in Wonderland
(2008). In 2010, he made Fruitcake as part of the experimental feminist porn suite Dirty Diaries. She Male Snails (2012) won several awards at the Gothenburg International Film Festival.
Han Gong-Ju
by Lee Su-Jin (South Korea, 2013)
“A skilfully crafted and highly accomplished debut – deviating from classicist structure, this film lures the spectator to participate in the pleasures of storytelling through an extraordinary and intricate narrative puzzle.”
Lee Su-Jin (South-Korea) is a screenwriter and director. He made several award-winning short films in his homeland. His roll of honour continues with his debut feature Han Gong-Ju, which won two awards at Busan, plus the top prize at the film festival of Marrakech.
Hivos director Edwin Huizing:
“Hivos aims to give young filmmakers a voice. To inspire us; to push boundaries. Their work has the potential to break open societies, so thoughts and creativity can flow more freely. The Hivos Tiger Awards give them the recognition they deserve.”
The Big Screen Award
Iffr introduced a new competition in 2013: The Big Screen Award Competition, aimed at supporting the distribution of films in Dutch cinemas. Ten very recent films with no Benelux distributor confirmed were nominated for this prize. An audience jury, chaired in 2014 by Christine de Baan, chose the winner. Iffr will connect a prize of €10.000 to the award in 2014. The money is for the distributor to support the costs of publicity for the releases of the winning film in cinemas in the Netherlands.
The winner of The Big Screen Award 2014 is:
Another Year
(Yeshche odin god) by Oxana Bychkova (Russia, 2014)
“At a time when Dutch media abound with negative news about Russia, Another Year
takes us straight into the daily lives of the young people who will shape its future and makes us open up our hearts to them. More than just a simple love story, it shows us how globalization meets tradition in present-day Russia, how they clash, and how they might be reconciled. Pitch perfect, beautifully acted and choreographed, modest, subtle and utterly convincing.”
Oxana Bychkova (1972, Ukraine) is a screenwriter and director. She studied journalism in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, graduating in 1995. After a career as a radio journalist, Bychkova began studying directing in 2000, focusing on filmmaking. Another Year is her first feature film.
Netpac Award
The Netpac Jury (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) awards the best Asian film in the Iffr 2014 Official Selection. The Jury consisted of Paul Agusta, filmmaker, filmcritic and poet from Indonesia; Defne Gursoy, film critic and writer from Turkey; and Anu Rangachar, programme director of the Mumbai Film Festival, India.
The winner of the Netpac Award 2014 is:
28
by Prasanna Jayakody (Sri Lanka, 2014)
“A well-measured and crafted film that emotionally engages the audience through poetic storytelling of a critical subject.”
Prasanna Jayakody (1968, Sri Lanka) was born into an artistic family strongly rooted in traditional Sinhala values, and grew up in a Buddhist environment. This became a major inspiration for his productions. He made his debut at the age of 21 with the stage drama Shadows and Men, which was a critical success. He then started directing television dramas that were loved by the masses and won him numerous television awards. His earlier films Sankara (2006) and Karma (2010) have also screened at Iffr.
Fipresci Award
The Jury of the International Association of Film Critics Fipresci (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique) awards the best film among the twenty-two world premieres in Bright Future 2014. The Jury consisted of president Blagoja Kunovski, Macedonia (Mrtv, Kinopis, Sintheses); Maria Fosheim Lund, Norway (Aftenposten, Wuxia); Guilhem Caillard, Canada (Séquences, Panorama-Cinéma, Cineuropa); Alberto Castellano, Italy (Il Manifesto, Segnocinema) and Sasja Koetsier, the Netherlands (De Filmkrant, Tijdschrift Lover).
The winner of the Rotterdam Fipresci Award 2014 is:
The Songs of Rice (Pleng khong kao)
by Uruphong Raksasad (Thailand, 2014)
“Fully relying on its strong cinematography, it creates an immersive sensory experience that makes us part of a vivid community revolving around the cultivation of a tiny grain.”
Uruphong Raksasad (1977, Thailand) studied film and photography at Thammasat University. After graduating in 2004, he worked as an editor and post-production supervisor on several Thai feature films. Since 2004, he has focused on his own career, returning to the region where he was born and shooting his feature debut Stories from the North (2006). The Songs of Rice is his third feature.
Knf Award
For the Knf Award, The Dutch Circle of Film Critics (Knf) Jury chose the winner out of the ten films in The Big Screen Award Competition 2014. The Knf Award consists of a subtitled Dcp. The Knf Jury consisted of Kees Driessen (Vrij Nederland); Paul van Es (Troskompas/TVKrant); Jelle Schot (Vpro/Cinema.nl); Nienke Huitenga (Lola/Filmtab) and Quirijn Foeken (Biosagenda).
The winner of the Knf Award 2014 is:
To Kill a Man (Matar a un hombre)
by Alejandro Fernández Almendras (Chile/France, 2013)
Read the review by Carlos Aguilar Here
“A compelling film with great visual style, impressive acting, and exactly the right length. The story is both simple and challenging. We follow the humiliation of the protagonist step by step and are confronted with our own fears in the process. This unremitting psychological thriller deserves to be seen on the big screen.”
Alejandro Fernández Almendras (1971, Chile) has a degree in journalism and worked as a film critic, photographer and journalist. Since 2002, he makes short films and video installations. His award-winning feature film debut Huacho (Alone)
premiered in Cannes in 2009.
MovieZone Award
MovieZone Jury gives young people the opportunity to fully experience a film festival and present their opinions on film. The MovieZone Iffr Jury consisted of five members between the ages of 15 and 18: Hanneke Bijker; Dzifa Kusenuh; Mauro Casarini; Moeddie Sherif and Floris Detering. In Rotterdam, they selected the winner out of eighteen eligible festival films. The winner of the MovieZone Iffr Award 2014 receives € 1,500 for promotion of the film among young people. The film also has a chance to become part of an Eye educational film programm.
The winner of the MovieZone Award 2014 is:
Jacky in the Kingdom of Women (Jacky au royaume des filles)
by Riad Sattouf (France, 2014)
“It was like a classical fairytale but with a completely different point of view. The makers of the film created a whole new world with the art direction and costume design and the film had a theme that everyone can relate to. The film was really funny but also had a great message.”
Riad Sattouf (1978, France) is a French writer, comic book artist and director with Syrian roots. He has successfully published various graphic novels and has a weekly comic in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. In 2009, he made his directing debut with the award-winning film Les beaux gosses. Jacky au royaume des filles is his second film.
Iffr previously announced winners of the Canon Tiger Awards for Short Films
and Arte International and Eurimages for best CineMart 2014 projects...
Hivos Tiger Awards
Fifteen first or second films by talented filmmakers from around the globe competed in the 2014 Hivos Tiger Awards Competition. The Jury consisted of distinguished filmmaker Elia Suleiman; celebrated Dutch filmmaker Nanouk Leopold, Indonesian filmmaker and former Tiger Award nominee Edwin; Violeta Bava, Bafici programmer and film producer from Argentina and Japanese actress and producer Kiki Sugino. Each Hivos Tiger Award comes with a prize of €15,000 for the filmmaker.
The winners of the three equal Hivos Tiger Awards 2014 are:
Anatomy of a Paper Clip (Yamamori clip koujo no atari)
by Ikeda Akira (Japan, 2013)
“Challenging narrative form with precision and economy, this film elevates observations of the absurd in human behavior, and brings it into the poetic domain.”
Ikeda Akira (1976, Japan) began to make his own short films while studying English literature at Bunkyo University. After being involved in various fields such as theatre, music and dance, he directed his first feature-length film The Blue Monkey in 2006. Anatomy of a Paper Clip is his second feature.
Something Must Break (Nånting måste gå sönder)
by Ester Martin Bergsmark (Sweden, 2014)
“A free-floating personal voyage traces the pains and pleasures of intimacy, recounted in a tender depiction of characters, with a sincere and playful use of cinematographic language.”
Ester Martin Bergsmark (1982, Sweden) trained at the Swedish University College of Arts, Crafts and Design. Together with Mark Hammarberg he made the award-winning documentary Maggie in Wonderland
(2008). In 2010, he made Fruitcake as part of the experimental feminist porn suite Dirty Diaries. She Male Snails (2012) won several awards at the Gothenburg International Film Festival.
Han Gong-Ju
by Lee Su-Jin (South Korea, 2013)
“A skilfully crafted and highly accomplished debut – deviating from classicist structure, this film lures the spectator to participate in the pleasures of storytelling through an extraordinary and intricate narrative puzzle.”
Lee Su-Jin (South-Korea) is a screenwriter and director. He made several award-winning short films in his homeland. His roll of honour continues with his debut feature Han Gong-Ju, which won two awards at Busan, plus the top prize at the film festival of Marrakech.
Hivos director Edwin Huizing:
“Hivos aims to give young filmmakers a voice. To inspire us; to push boundaries. Their work has the potential to break open societies, so thoughts and creativity can flow more freely. The Hivos Tiger Awards give them the recognition they deserve.”
The Big Screen Award
Iffr introduced a new competition in 2013: The Big Screen Award Competition, aimed at supporting the distribution of films in Dutch cinemas. Ten very recent films with no Benelux distributor confirmed were nominated for this prize. An audience jury, chaired in 2014 by Christine de Baan, chose the winner. Iffr will connect a prize of €10.000 to the award in 2014. The money is for the distributor to support the costs of publicity for the releases of the winning film in cinemas in the Netherlands.
The winner of The Big Screen Award 2014 is:
Another Year
(Yeshche odin god) by Oxana Bychkova (Russia, 2014)
“At a time when Dutch media abound with negative news about Russia, Another Year
takes us straight into the daily lives of the young people who will shape its future and makes us open up our hearts to them. More than just a simple love story, it shows us how globalization meets tradition in present-day Russia, how they clash, and how they might be reconciled. Pitch perfect, beautifully acted and choreographed, modest, subtle and utterly convincing.”
Oxana Bychkova (1972, Ukraine) is a screenwriter and director. She studied journalism in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, graduating in 1995. After a career as a radio journalist, Bychkova began studying directing in 2000, focusing on filmmaking. Another Year is her first feature film.
Netpac Award
The Netpac Jury (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) awards the best Asian film in the Iffr 2014 Official Selection. The Jury consisted of Paul Agusta, filmmaker, filmcritic and poet from Indonesia; Defne Gursoy, film critic and writer from Turkey; and Anu Rangachar, programme director of the Mumbai Film Festival, India.
The winner of the Netpac Award 2014 is:
28
by Prasanna Jayakody (Sri Lanka, 2014)
“A well-measured and crafted film that emotionally engages the audience through poetic storytelling of a critical subject.”
Prasanna Jayakody (1968, Sri Lanka) was born into an artistic family strongly rooted in traditional Sinhala values, and grew up in a Buddhist environment. This became a major inspiration for his productions. He made his debut at the age of 21 with the stage drama Shadows and Men, which was a critical success. He then started directing television dramas that were loved by the masses and won him numerous television awards. His earlier films Sankara (2006) and Karma (2010) have also screened at Iffr.
Fipresci Award
The Jury of the International Association of Film Critics Fipresci (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique) awards the best film among the twenty-two world premieres in Bright Future 2014. The Jury consisted of president Blagoja Kunovski, Macedonia (Mrtv, Kinopis, Sintheses); Maria Fosheim Lund, Norway (Aftenposten, Wuxia); Guilhem Caillard, Canada (Séquences, Panorama-Cinéma, Cineuropa); Alberto Castellano, Italy (Il Manifesto, Segnocinema) and Sasja Koetsier, the Netherlands (De Filmkrant, Tijdschrift Lover).
The winner of the Rotterdam Fipresci Award 2014 is:
The Songs of Rice (Pleng khong kao)
by Uruphong Raksasad (Thailand, 2014)
“Fully relying on its strong cinematography, it creates an immersive sensory experience that makes us part of a vivid community revolving around the cultivation of a tiny grain.”
Uruphong Raksasad (1977, Thailand) studied film and photography at Thammasat University. After graduating in 2004, he worked as an editor and post-production supervisor on several Thai feature films. Since 2004, he has focused on his own career, returning to the region where he was born and shooting his feature debut Stories from the North (2006). The Songs of Rice is his third feature.
Knf Award
For the Knf Award, The Dutch Circle of Film Critics (Knf) Jury chose the winner out of the ten films in The Big Screen Award Competition 2014. The Knf Award consists of a subtitled Dcp. The Knf Jury consisted of Kees Driessen (Vrij Nederland); Paul van Es (Troskompas/TVKrant); Jelle Schot (Vpro/Cinema.nl); Nienke Huitenga (Lola/Filmtab) and Quirijn Foeken (Biosagenda).
The winner of the Knf Award 2014 is:
To Kill a Man (Matar a un hombre)
by Alejandro Fernández Almendras (Chile/France, 2013)
Read the review by Carlos Aguilar Here
“A compelling film with great visual style, impressive acting, and exactly the right length. The story is both simple and challenging. We follow the humiliation of the protagonist step by step and are confronted with our own fears in the process. This unremitting psychological thriller deserves to be seen on the big screen.”
Alejandro Fernández Almendras (1971, Chile) has a degree in journalism and worked as a film critic, photographer and journalist. Since 2002, he makes short films and video installations. His award-winning feature film debut Huacho (Alone)
premiered in Cannes in 2009.
MovieZone Award
MovieZone Jury gives young people the opportunity to fully experience a film festival and present their opinions on film. The MovieZone Iffr Jury consisted of five members between the ages of 15 and 18: Hanneke Bijker; Dzifa Kusenuh; Mauro Casarini; Moeddie Sherif and Floris Detering. In Rotterdam, they selected the winner out of eighteen eligible festival films. The winner of the MovieZone Iffr Award 2014 receives € 1,500 for promotion of the film among young people. The film also has a chance to become part of an Eye educational film programm.
The winner of the MovieZone Award 2014 is:
Jacky in the Kingdom of Women (Jacky au royaume des filles)
by Riad Sattouf (France, 2014)
“It was like a classical fairytale but with a completely different point of view. The makers of the film created a whole new world with the art direction and costume design and the film had a theme that everyone can relate to. The film was really funny but also had a great message.”
Riad Sattouf (1978, France) is a French writer, comic book artist and director with Syrian roots. He has successfully published various graphic novels and has a weekly comic in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. In 2009, he made his directing debut with the award-winning film Les beaux gosses. Jacky au royaume des filles is his second film.
Iffr previously announced winners of the Canon Tiger Awards for Short Films
and Arte International and Eurimages for best CineMart 2014 projects...
- 2/1/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Six films from Argentina, Chile and Colombia to be presented during the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Films in Progress 24 will run in San Sebastian from Sept 23-25 as part of the 61st edition of the festival. This year, for the first time, Films in Progress will last for three days to coincide with the II Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum.
The titles programmed for presentation in Films in Progress 24 are:
La comodidad en la distancia (Chile) Jorge Yacoman SaavedraHistoria del Miedo (Argentina-Uruguay-France-Germany) Benjamín NaishtatMatar a un hombre (Chile-France) Alejandro Fernández AlmendrasNacimiento (Colombia) Martín Mejía RugelesPantanal (Argentina) Andrew SalaLa Salada (Argentina) Juan Martín Hsu.
Films in Progress is the programme of aid to Latin American cinema called twice yearly by the San Sebastian Festival and Cinélatino Rencontres de Toulouse.
For this edition a total of 82 submissions from 16 countries were received.
The Films in Progress Industry Award will be granted at the event.
The companies...
Films in Progress 24 will run in San Sebastian from Sept 23-25 as part of the 61st edition of the festival. This year, for the first time, Films in Progress will last for three days to coincide with the II Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum.
The titles programmed for presentation in Films in Progress 24 are:
La comodidad en la distancia (Chile) Jorge Yacoman SaavedraHistoria del Miedo (Argentina-Uruguay-France-Germany) Benjamín NaishtatMatar a un hombre (Chile-France) Alejandro Fernández AlmendrasNacimiento (Colombia) Martín Mejía RugelesPantanal (Argentina) Andrew SalaLa Salada (Argentina) Juan Martín Hsu.
Films in Progress is the programme of aid to Latin American cinema called twice yearly by the San Sebastian Festival and Cinélatino Rencontres de Toulouse.
For this edition a total of 82 submissions from 16 countries were received.
The Films in Progress Industry Award will be granted at the event.
The companies...
- 8/20/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The 14th session of the Berlinale World Cinema Fund (Wcf) will fund eight new film projects: four at the production stage and four at the distribution stage.
Nader and Simin, A Separation a film by Asghar Farhadi that won the Golden Bear at the 61st Berlinale will receive distribution funding.
The World Cinema Fund jury made their selection from 135 submissions from a total of 41 countries. Production funds totalling 140,000 euros as well as distribution funds totalling 22,500 euros will be awarded.
The submission deadline for the next round of production funding is August 4, 2011. For further information, go to www.berlinale.de
Production funding:
In What City Does it Live?, director: Seng Tat Liew (Malaysia), Producer: Everything Films, Malaysia. Feature film. Funding: 50,000 €
Round Trip, director: Meyar Al Roumi (Syria), Producer: Maranto Films GmbH, Deutschland. Feature film. Funding: 30,000 €
Polvo (Dust), director: Julio Hernández Cordón (Guatemala), Producer: Melindrosa Films, Guatemala. Feature film. Funding: 30,000 €
Girimunho (Swirl...
Nader and Simin, A Separation a film by Asghar Farhadi that won the Golden Bear at the 61st Berlinale will receive distribution funding.
The World Cinema Fund jury made their selection from 135 submissions from a total of 41 countries. Production funds totalling 140,000 euros as well as distribution funds totalling 22,500 euros will be awarded.
The submission deadline for the next round of production funding is August 4, 2011. For further information, go to www.berlinale.de
Production funding:
In What City Does it Live?, director: Seng Tat Liew (Malaysia), Producer: Everything Films, Malaysia. Feature film. Funding: 50,000 €
Round Trip, director: Meyar Al Roumi (Syria), Producer: Maranto Films GmbH, Deutschland. Feature film. Funding: 30,000 €
Polvo (Dust), director: Julio Hernández Cordón (Guatemala), Producer: Melindrosa Films, Guatemala. Feature film. Funding: 30,000 €
Girimunho (Swirl...
- 7/8/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
As reported earlier on The Evening Class, in 2007 the Global Film Initiative provided completion funding for Chilean director Alejandro Fernández Almendras' feature debut Huacho (Facebook page, in Spanish). In 2008 Almendras won the Sundance / Nhk International Filmmaker Award. Huacho sceened in the Critics Week at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, had its North American premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff), and is now seeing its Us premiere at the 2010 Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff).
- 12/25/2009
- Screen Anarchy
Toronto -- The Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday unveiled a slew of premieres, mostly out of Cannes and Berlin, including the latest films from veterans Manoel de Oliveira, Alain Resnais and Hirokazu Kore-eda.
De Oliveira's "Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl" will unspool as part of the Masters sidebar, as will Resnais' "Les Herbes Folles" and "Air Doll," Japanese director Kore-eda's drama about a blow-up doll that becomes a real person that stars Korean actress Bae Doo-na.
And the high-profile Contemporary World Cinema program booked Israeli director Haim Tabakman's "Eyes Wide Open," a gay love story set in a religious Jewish community, "Huacho," from Chilean director Alejandro Fernandez Almendras, Korea's "Like You Know It All," by Hong Sang-soo, and Jessica Hausner's "Lourdes."
Other Cwc titles include Asli Ozge's "Men on the Bridge," set in Istanbul, Australian director Sarah Watt's "My Year Without Sex" and from Romania "Police, Adjective," by Corneliu Porumboiu.
Toronto each year unveils titles chosen from earlier international film festivals before it rolls out its own world premieres.
De Oliveira's "Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl" will unspool as part of the Masters sidebar, as will Resnais' "Les Herbes Folles" and "Air Doll," Japanese director Kore-eda's drama about a blow-up doll that becomes a real person that stars Korean actress Bae Doo-na.
And the high-profile Contemporary World Cinema program booked Israeli director Haim Tabakman's "Eyes Wide Open," a gay love story set in a religious Jewish community, "Huacho," from Chilean director Alejandro Fernandez Almendras, Korea's "Like You Know It All," by Hong Sang-soo, and Jessica Hausner's "Lourdes."
Other Cwc titles include Asli Ozge's "Men on the Bridge," set in Istanbul, Australian director Sarah Watt's "My Year Without Sex" and from Romania "Police, Adjective," by Corneliu Porumboiu.
Toronto each year unveils titles chosen from earlier international film festivals before it rolls out its own world premieres.
- 6/24/2009
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Germany seems to already be the winner for having the most coproductions represented in the Cannes Film Festival and its sidebars.
The Berlin production company X-Filme Creative Pool has Competition film The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band) by the Munich-born director Michael Haneke (a German-Austrian-French-Italian coproduction).
Zehnte Babelsberg Film, a division of Studio Babelsberg AG, is the German producer of the competition entry from Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (a US-German coproduction).
Also screening in this year's Competition is Lars von Trier's Antichrist (a Danish-German-French-Swedish-Italian coproduction). The film's German co-producer is Zentropa International, with Heimatfilm as service producer.
The Israeli-French-German coproduction Jaffa by Keren Yedaya will be shown in the Official Program's Special Screenings . The German producer is Rohfilm.
The co-production Eyes Wide Open by Haim Tabakman (Israeli-German-French) will be presented in the Official Program's Un Certain Regard . Riva Film is the German co-producer of the film.
Independencia by Raya Martin (a French-German-Philippine coproduction) and The Wind Journeys (Los Viajes del Viento) by Ciro Guerra (a Colombia-German-Dutch coproduction) can also be seen in this section, both co-produced by Germany's Razor Film Produktion.
27 Films Production, is the German producer of Un Certain Regard entry, Le pere de mes enfants, by Mia Hansen-Løve (a French-German coproduction).
The Critics’ Week will be presenting Cologne-based Pandora Film's co-production Huacho by Alejandro Fernández Almendras (a French-Chilean-German coproduction).
Altiplano, the first breakout film of Helen Loveridge's new international sales agency Meridiana by Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth (a Belgian-German-Dutch coproduction), co-produced by ma.ja.de fiction, will also be screened in The Critics' Week.
Another co-production in the Critics’ Week is Lost Persons Area by Caroline Strubbe (a Belgian-Dutch-Hungarian-German coproduction), ZDF/Arte and Network Movie are the German partners.
Also screening in this section is the short Together by Eicke Bettinga (a German-UK coproduction), Piggott-Bettinga Filmproduktion.
This year will also see the Critics’ Week presenting the results of the workshop for European filmmakers CINETRAIN. Filmmakers from different countries worked together on six shorts on a specific subject. Florian Krebs from Germany is one of the three directors of the short McRussia.
The Directors’ Fortnight is showing the Israeli-German coproduction Ajami by Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani. German coproducer is Berlin based Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion.
The Berlin production company X-Filme Creative Pool has Competition film The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band) by the Munich-born director Michael Haneke (a German-Austrian-French-Italian coproduction).
Zehnte Babelsberg Film, a division of Studio Babelsberg AG, is the German producer of the competition entry from Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (a US-German coproduction).
Also screening in this year's Competition is Lars von Trier's Antichrist (a Danish-German-French-Swedish-Italian coproduction). The film's German co-producer is Zentropa International, with Heimatfilm as service producer.
The Israeli-French-German coproduction Jaffa by Keren Yedaya will be shown in the Official Program's Special Screenings . The German producer is Rohfilm.
The co-production Eyes Wide Open by Haim Tabakman (Israeli-German-French) will be presented in the Official Program's Un Certain Regard . Riva Film is the German co-producer of the film.
Independencia by Raya Martin (a French-German-Philippine coproduction) and The Wind Journeys (Los Viajes del Viento) by Ciro Guerra (a Colombia-German-Dutch coproduction) can also be seen in this section, both co-produced by Germany's Razor Film Produktion.
27 Films Production, is the German producer of Un Certain Regard entry, Le pere de mes enfants, by Mia Hansen-Løve (a French-German coproduction).
The Critics’ Week will be presenting Cologne-based Pandora Film's co-production Huacho by Alejandro Fernández Almendras (a French-Chilean-German coproduction).
Altiplano, the first breakout film of Helen Loveridge's new international sales agency Meridiana by Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth (a Belgian-German-Dutch coproduction), co-produced by ma.ja.de fiction, will also be screened in The Critics' Week.
Another co-production in the Critics’ Week is Lost Persons Area by Caroline Strubbe (a Belgian-Dutch-Hungarian-German coproduction), ZDF/Arte and Network Movie are the German partners.
Also screening in this section is the short Together by Eicke Bettinga (a German-UK coproduction), Piggott-Bettinga Filmproduktion.
This year will also see the Critics’ Week presenting the results of the workshop for European filmmakers CINETRAIN. Filmmakers from different countries worked together on six shorts on a specific subject. Florian Krebs from Germany is one of the three directors of the short McRussia.
The Directors’ Fortnight is showing the Israeli-German coproduction Ajami by Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani. German coproducer is Berlin based Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion.
- 5/7/2009
- Sydney's Buzz
Direct from German Film
Germany seems to already be the winner for having the most coproductions represented in the Cannes Film Festival and its sidebars.
Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux has announced this year's selection for the Official Program. The Berlin production company X-Filme Creative Pool is pleased about the invitation to the Competition for The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band) by the Munich-born director Michael Haneke (a German-Austrian-French-Italian coproduction). The film tells the story of a school and church choir led by the local teacher in a village in Germany's Protestant North on the eve of the First World War. Strange accidents occur and increasingly assume the character of ritual punishments.
Zehnte Babelsberg Film, a division of Studio Babelsberg Ag, is the German producer of the competition entry from Quentin Tarantino Inglourious Basterds (a Us-German coproduction). The film combines the story of the young Shosanna, whose family are...
Germany seems to already be the winner for having the most coproductions represented in the Cannes Film Festival and its sidebars.
Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux has announced this year's selection for the Official Program. The Berlin production company X-Filme Creative Pool is pleased about the invitation to the Competition for The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band) by the Munich-born director Michael Haneke (a German-Austrian-French-Italian coproduction). The film tells the story of a school and church choir led by the local teacher in a village in Germany's Protestant North on the eve of the First World War. Strange accidents occur and increasingly assume the character of ritual punishments.
Zehnte Babelsberg Film, a division of Studio Babelsberg Ag, is the German producer of the competition entry from Quentin Tarantino Inglourious Basterds (a Us-German coproduction). The film combines the story of the young Shosanna, whose family are...
- 5/3/2009
- by Sydney@SydneysBuzz.com (Sydney)
- Sydney's Buzz
- The section devoted to 1st and 2nd films is mostly going with newbies this year. With the exception of Altiplano starring (Olivier Gourmet) from director pairing of Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth (Khadak), in my opinion, the complete sidebar will be a like throwing a dart aimlessly and hoping to land on something worth your while. In the past couple of years they had Junebug, Me and you and everyone we know, Look Both Ways, Xxy, and my favorite film of the section in 2008 was Aida Begic's Snijep (Snow). This year they have stripped the section down, by perhaps five films less and there are no signs of the Fipresci "revelation of the year" pick - a one slot for a film the organization thinks deserves a second chance. This year, like previousyears they have films from a little bit everywhere - but this year they focused mostly
- 4/23/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
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