Filmmakers from Iran, Serbia, Romania, Bangladesh and Russia were awarded at the Moscow Film Festival
In Moscow, on September 2, the closing ceremony of the 44th Moscow International Film Festival took place, which, according to tradition, took place at the Rossiya Theater. Magazine The Status Symbol visited the closing ceremony and talks about how the film festival maintains its international status.
In 2022, the MIFF, perhaps the only international film festival, continues to focus attention not on European, but on Asian cinema, although films from all continents except Antarctica were presented as part of the show. 49 films from 25 countries competed for the festival prizes. The main program of the MIFF featured films from France, Serbia, Iran, Russia, Bangladesh and the Netherlands (co-production), Sri Lanka, Turkey (Germany, Slovenia - co-production), Bolivia and Uruguay (co-production), China and Peru.
Alexey Agranovich became the voice of the ceremony, and the Moral Code group was responsible for the musical accompaniment of the ceremony.
Grand Prize "Golden Saint George" for best film went to the Iranian film "Without prior agreement" (directed by Behrouz Shoaibi).
The award was presented by the chairman of the jury Evgeny Mironov: “It was hard work. We looked at 13 films. All difficult, ambiguous, but all of them were united by the fact that people know their dreams well, but professionalism and courage won.”.
The director received the prize Behrouz Shoaibi: «We were sure that we were making a film to tell everyone once again that the main path to salvation is love. Perhaps this is the most significant film work for me, for which I thank the entire film crew who worked on this film for two years.".
“Silver St. George” for the best short film – “Breeze”, Iran, directed by Hamidreza Ghazemi.
VGIK graduate directed by Hamidreza Ghazemi said in Russian: “I am honored to receive this prize. This work took five years of study at VGIK, which would not have happened without my masters - Alexander and Vladimir Kott, for which I am very grateful to them. The main task of my cinema is to find a way to communicate with the audience so that they feel both me and my hero.”
The prize for the best documentary was presented by the chairman of the competition jury, Malaysian filmmaker Wu-Wei Bin Haji Shaari.
“Silver Saint George” for the best documentary film – “Holy Archipelago”, Russia, director Sergei Debizhev.
“It’s not often that Russian documentaries receive prizes at the Moscow International Film Festival. It seems to me that it’s high time to move to the bright side of life and stop scaring the viewer and tickling him. It’s time to appeal to his soul, and we will make every effort to do this.”,” said Sergei Debizhev.
The prize for the best film in the new competition “Russian Premieres” was presented by the chairman of the jury, director Sergei Ursulyak.
Special mention by the jury of the “Russian Premieres” competition – “Kat”, Russia, directed by Boris Akopov.
“Silver Saint George” for the best film of the “Russian Premieres” competition – “A Healthy Man”, Russia, director Pyotr Todorovsky.
“Thank you very much to the jury. It is a great honor to receive a prize, especially in such a very strong competition. I would just like to say “thank you” to those people who believed in me."“, Todorovsky noted when receiving the award.
“Golden Saint George for his contribution to world cinema” - composer Eduard Artemyev.
The prize was presented by director Sergei Ursulyak.
“44 is not an easy number. The sum of 4 and 4 gives 8. Infinity sign. And I feel like we are all caught in an endless whirlpool of creation, disappearance and creation again. And this is great happiness. Moreover, everyone who is engaged in creativity is creating a reality that did not exist.”, - said Artemyev, receiving the prize.
Silver Saint George for Best Performance by a Male Role – Cascaval Church, “The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness”, Romania
The award was presented by producer Thandi Davids (South Africa). The award for the actor was accepted by the producer of the film, Laura Irina.
“Thank you to the jury who chose this film. Thanks to everyone who came to watch it and who liked it. Thanks to the Lord God, thanks to whom we ended up here. And thanks to Father Kalce Dumiatryas, to whose memory we dedicate this film,” Laura Irina said.
Silver St. George for Best Performance by an Actress – Pega Ahangarani, “Without a Preliminary Arrangement,” Iran
The prize was presented by Turkish-Russian cameraman Gayk Kirakosyan. The director of the film, Behrouz Shoaibi, received the award for the actress.
Special Jury Prize “Silver St. George” “For realism and humanity” – director Juboraj Shamim, “Instinct”, Bangladesh/Netherlands
The prize was presented by Iranian producer and director Rasoul Sadrameli. The award was accepted by director Juboraj Shamim, who could not hide his joy at receiving the award:
“This is my first feature film. And I was surprised that it was selected for the Moscow International Film Festival. This is already a great honor and I didn’t expect anything more. And then suddenly there was a prize. And I can't even express how I feel. I am immensely grateful to the audience, the jury, and the festival for this award."
Silver Saint George for Best Director – Sinisa Cvetic, “Beheading”, Serbia
The prize was presented by Russian director Andrei Kravchuk. The award was accepted by Sinisa Cvetic.
“When I was 12 years old, my grandfather was dying of cancer, and on the eve of his death he dreamed that one day I would stand on stage in front of an audience in Moscow. It seems that this is what happened. Today you can add “special” to anything, but I think only real things can be called special – like a festival, an award, art.”, said the director.
Source and photos: MIFF press service
