Romanian film Three Kilometers to the End of the World, from director Emanuel Pârvu, won the Heart of Sarajevo prize on Friday for Best Feature Film at the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival. The film focuses on the violent attack on a 17-year-old boy and and the aftermath in his home village in the Danube Delta wetlands region in Romania.
“I can honestly say that I really want people, when they are leaving the cinema, to think about themselves,” Pârvu said. “I think that was my goal when I was shooting it. I wanted to make a movie where, at the end, I wanted you not to be happy, not to be sad, but to think very, very much about yourself and your decisions regarding the ones you love.”
Yorgos Zois was named Best Director for Arcadia, a Greek/Bulgarian/U.S. production. Anab Ahmed Ibrahim was tapped for Best Actress for Village Next to Paradise, and Doru Bem was Best Actor for Holy Week.
The competition jury included Paul Schrader as president (director/screenwriter, USA); Sebastian Cavazza (actor, Slovenia); Una Gunjak (director/screewriter/editor, Bosina and Herzegovina); Juho Kuosmanen (director/screenwriter, Finland); and Noomi Rapace (actress/producer, Sweden)
The Heart of Sarajevo prize for Best Documentary went to A Picture to Remember from director Olga Chernykh, and Absent, from Cem Demirer, was the top Short Film.
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Here are the winners at the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival:
Awards of the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival
HONORARY HEART OF SARAJEVO
Philippe Bober
Christof Papousek
Alexader Payne
Meg Ryan
Paul Schrader
Elia Suleiman
John Turturro
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST FEATURE FILM
THREE KILOMETERS TO THE END OF THE WORLD
Romania
Director: Emanuel Pârvu
Producer: Miruna Berecsu
The monetary prize in the amount of €16,000 is co-funded by the Tourism Association of Canton Sarajevo.
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST DIRECTOR
Yorgos Zois, ARCADIA
Greece, Bulgria, USA
The monetary prize in the amount of €10,000 is sponsored by the United Nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina in cooperation with UNESCO.
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST ACTRESS
Anab Ahmed Ibrahim, VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE
Austria, France, Germany, Somalia
Monetary prize in the amount of €2,500.
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST ACTOR
Doru Bem, HOLY WEEK
Romania, Switzerland
Monetary prize in the amount of €2,500.
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
A PICTURE TO REMEMBER
Ukraine, France, Germany
Director: Olga Chernykh
The monetary prize in the amount of €4,000 is sponsored by the Government of Switzerland.
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY FILM
LIKE A SICK YELLOW
Kosovo*
Director: Norika Sefa
Monetary prize in the amount of €2,000.
HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD
YOUR LIFE WITHOUT ME
Hungary, Switzerland
Director: Anna Rubi
The Human Rights Award is presented for the best film from the Competition Programme – Documentary Film that addresses human rights issues. The monetary prize in the amount of €3,000 is sponsored by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
SPECIAL JURY AWARD
WHAT WE ASK OF A STATUE IS THAT IT DOESN’T MOVE
Greece, France
Director: Daphné Hérétakis
Monetary prize in the amount of €2,500.
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST SHORT FILM
ABSENT
Türkiye
Director: Cem Demirer
Qualifies the winning film for consideration for the Academy Award® for Best Short Film.
Monetary prize in the amount of €2,500.
SPECIAL MENTION
TAKO TSUBO
Austria, Germany
Director: Eva Pedroza, Fanny Sorgo
HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST STUDENT FILM
THE SMELL OF FRESH PAINT
Serbia
Director: Nađa Petrović
The monetary prize in the amount of €1,000 is sponsored by the Regional Cooperation Council.
SPECIAL ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS AWARD
THE SKY ABOVE ZENICA
Denmark, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Director: Zlatko Pranjić, Nanna Frank Møller
Award in the amount of €5,000 sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme in BiH.
SPECIAL AWARD FOR PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY
CENT’ANNI
Slovenia, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Austria
Director: Maja Doroteja Prelog
The monetary prize in the amount of €7,500 is sponsored by Mastercard.
* This label does not prejudge the status of Kosovo and is in accordance with Resolution 1244 and the opinion of the ICJ on Kosovo’s declaration of independence
