WINGED REELS
It went out with a bang. The evening sparkled with glitter and gold and Gallus Hall hosted yet another
closing and awards ceremony of the jubilee Ljubljana International Film Festival.
Dashing in their black ties and led by eminent conductor Helmut Imig, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra performed music for the Charlie Chaplin film
How to Make Movies, providing a guiding line to all the budding and wide-eyed film artists from the master himself.
But the film crowd gathered with but one purpose in mind – to wrap it up, and give away some prizes. First the
FIPRESCI jury, of the International Federation of Film Critics, composed of renowned film critics, Marco Lombardi, Maya Dimitrieva and Peter Kolsek,
bestowed the Grand Prix to Czech Dreams by Vit Klusak and
Filip Remunda. Straight from Prague, Remunda came to collect the award and thank the jury for the honour.
Then it was the audience’s turn. For fourteen days our film buffs have been giving their marks to the movies that appealed to them. One film has from the start been in the lead, leaving behind all others to be, only in the last few days, closely followed by Croatian Witnesses by Vinko Bresan. Andrej Kosak, a celebrated Slovenian director and this time in the role of the president of the voting results jury, announced the winner of the 2004 People’s Choice
Golden Reel Award. And the winner was: The Chorists by Christophe Barratier. The award, apart from testifying to the film being likeable, assures the film Slovenian distribution.
Last but not least the international jury, comprised of Alissa Simon, an American film curator, historian and writer, Christine Dollhofer, a well-known Austrian film expert and Brane Šturbej, a Slovenian film and theatre actor, had a hard time reaching a decision. The 15th Liffe Perspectives section had a strong competition thus the jurors opted for
a special mention that went to The Missing from Taiwanese director
Lee Kang-sheng.
The story transplants us from the arena of mere spectatorship into the activity of being a voyeur. It is not just about the search for missing persons but also about the search for identity.
The KINGFISHER PRIZE in the amount of 5000 Euros, granted by general sponsor Mobitel, d.d., went to a sensual first feature that enraptured them with its outstanding cinematography and a strong emotional appeal. The young auteur managed to put her personal stamp on a coming of age story while eliciting striking and nuanced performances from a talented cast.
The winner was CATE SHORTLAND from Australia for SOMERSAULT.
Detained by shooting a TV commercial, Cate sent Anthony Andrews, her producer, to collect the prize. She was thrilled that her film had received the award, since it was the first accolade outside Australia. Made with a lot of love, the film touched upon the hearts of the audiences as well as won over the jury.
PROBING A MENTAL SPACE
The evening celebrating moving images rounded off with just the thing for the film palate – the latest cinematography extravaganza by Won Kar-wai. Evoking the 1960s and interspersed with the blurring, phantasmagorical images from the future,
2046 portrays a place where one hides one’s memories, secret thoughts and desires. Physical or mental, none of us can deny harbouring this place deep within ourselves.
ROCKING THE HOUSE
Climaxing with a dance party and deejayed by Dino Dvornik, a Croatian musician-cum-actor in
A Wonderful Night in Split by Arsen Ostojic, the night dazzled with stars, and sparkling eyes still enshrouded in the dreamy images of love.
By Anina Oblak
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