62. Festival del film Locarno
 August 5-15, 2009

 Festival homepage  |  Homepage of the Ecumenical Jury

Awards of the Ecumencial Jury

At the 62nd Festival del Film Locarno the Ecumenical Jury of SIGNIS and INTERFILM awards its Prize to the film

© Film Festival Locarno 2009

Akadimia Platonos
directed by Filippos Tsitos, Greece/Germany, 2009

Through its well-considered mise-en-scène and deliberate camera work, this film is a detailed observation of simple people in their everyday life in a neighbourhood in Athens. With a sometimes bitter-sweet, sometimes ironical tone, the film criticises naive patriotism and xenophobia, pleading instead for the dismissal of prejudices, a good understanding between cultures and the acceptance of others even if they are different.

Synopsis:
Stavros is a tobacconist in the Plato’s Academy District in Athens. A middle-aged man with a dead-end life, he spends his days sitting outside his store with some other shop keepers, chewing the cud, grumbling about the influx of Albanians and Chinese in Athens. His wife has long since left him and his evenings are devoted to his elderly mother. His refuge is his nationalism. He is Greek and proud of it. In his his darker moments, he can always console himself with the thought that at least he is not an Albanian…or, at least, that is what he thinks. (Festival information)

In addition, the Jury awarded a Commendation to

© Film Festival Locarno 2009

Nothing Personal
by Urszula Antoniak, The Netherlands/Ireland 2009

Subtly and by an appropriate timing the film tells a touching story of solitude and relationship. Beautiful images of pristine nature, and music reveal the mood and emotions of the characters. The director conveys a strong message of hope for people violated in their lives and struggling for new relations, demonstrating respect for the freedom and independence of the other.

Synopsis:
A young female rebel and an old sage challenge each other in a story about personal freedom and attachment. She is a young Dutch woman, who after throwing away all her possessions becomes a vagabond by choice and finds the solitude she was looking for in an austere landscape of Irish Connemara. He is an old man who lives a solitary life in a secluded house in Ireland. She is radical and uncompromising. He is wise and ironic. What connects them is solitude they both see as freedom. (Festival information)

Members of the jury:
Jos Horemans (Belgium), President
Christine Bolliger-Erard (France)
Lucia Cuocci (Italy)
Stefanie Knauß (Austrai/Italy)
Bojidar Manov (Bulgaria)
Fawzi Soliman (Egypt)

Jury president Jos Horemans and prize winner Filippos Tsitos at the
award ceremony (© Charles Martig)