Awards of 13th edition

Documentary Film Festival Special Award -THE DONBASS CHILDREN

Synopsis: The Donbass Children is a movie about the Donbas war, first-person stories. The movie introduces people in Europe to a point of view that remains hidden to them – that of the war victims, of the people who did not want to take sides in the conflict but were forced into it.

Documentary, 60 min.

Bulgaria

Director: Lubomir Dankov

Film editor: Zina Nacheva

Operators: Tatyana Krylova and Lubomir Dankov

Sound: Nenko Milev

Director Biography – Lubomir Dankov

The director is a Bulgarian amateur photographer. He has been developing an information project on the Donbass war since 2016. The Donbass children is his first film.

Best Documentary – SOME SOFIA BARDS AND OTHER LOCAL BIRDS

Synopsis: Sofia is a city of many faces; in it so many paths cross, and so many stories and fates. Old buildings, old trees and new architectural details match together into one big picture. We’ve met many people and quickly forgot most of them. We passed by so many never remembering their faces. Just as any other city that lives and breathes, this one too has its rhythm, its music born in the simultaneous movement of people, cars, dogs, cats, birds, and the leaves of the trees. Not all people can hear this music, but there are some, who can. This movie is about the people, who bring life to the city, the bards / singer-songwriters/. It’s about their footsteps and their songs, that we sing along not knowing where we’ve heard them, it’s about the melodies that get lost in the clamor and the sound of footfall and the roar of engines. – that make the leaves tremble, almost out of habit.

Directed by: Irina Kitova

Writing Credits: Irina Kitova

Produced by :Milena Ananieva -line producer

Snezhinka Andreeva-consultant

Ruslan Grudev-associate producer

Pravda Kirova-executive producer

Ludmila Zhiivkova-producer

Cinematography by : Simeon Kirov, Ivaylo Penchev

Film Editing by : Donka Ivanova

Production Design by :Rositsa Yachkova

Art Direction by: Rositsa Yachkova

Sound Department :Veselin Zografov

Camera and Electrical Department : Ivaylo Penchev –camera

Editorial Department: Ruslan Grudev-post-production coordinator

Maria Ivanova-assistant editor / post-production assistant, Angel Stefanov-assistant editor / editor

Special Award Of The Festival Goddess On The Throne For Short Film – SYCAMORE

Synopsis: An old man spends the day wandering the streets of Istanbul. He communicates with the trees and seagulls rather than other people.

The director of Sycamore

Director: Mehmet Tigli

Writer: Mehmet Tigli

Stars: Baris Aksavas, Mahmut Gökgöz, Nur Cansu Solak

Produced by :Mina Ertem-co-producer

Erkan Simsir- producer

Music by : Sehabettin Genc
Cinematography by :Gökhan Deniz,Erkan Simsir

Film Editing by :Mehmet Goksu

Casting By:Özgür Dereli

Best Short Script – WINGS OF THE SPIRIT

Country: Austria

Length: 29 min

Language:German

Director Albert Meisl

Screenwriter: Albert Meisl

Producer:Lena Weiss

DoP:Alexander Dirninger

Editor: Sebastian Schreiner

Cast: Erwin Riedenschneider

Rafael Haider

Graham Parkes

Abe Gruber

Genre:Comedy

Albert Meisl

Albert Meisl, born in Munich. Studied German and film studies in Munich and Berlin. Studied acting at the Mozarteum Salzburg. Studied screenwriting and directing at the Vienna Film Academy with Peter Patzak, Wolfgang Murnberger and Götz Spielmann. International festival successes with the short films \ “The Burden of Remembrance \” and \ “The Victory of Mercy \”. He works as a cultural journalist, assistant director and script / continuity.

Best Short Film – WHY WE ARE UNHAPPY IN CITIES

Synopsis
A youth’s life falls into chaos following the breaking of his beloved lighter: his lover leaves him and he loses his job. The youth desperately seeks for a way to fix his lighter as a way to mend his ruined life, but in the process ends up losing the lighter itself.

Director: Zhao Gang

Writer: Zhao Gang

Stars: Naomi Ying Bushaw, Sanming Han, Cheng Hao |

Zhao Gang

/ Director

BORN January, 1965

RRESIDENCE Nanjing, China

Zhao Gang has worked as a laborer, reporter, and held various odd jobs. He left these lines of work and became a professional author in 1995, primarily writing and exploring Chinese New novels. Among China’s contemporary novelists, his writing is known for its independent directions, consciousness, and brimming vitality. His works have been adopted by various organizations for the screen. He collaborated briefly with Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami on scriptwriting. “Why We Are Unhappy in Cities” is his first production as film director.

Best Feature Film and Best Directing & Best Actor and Actress – GOLNESA

Synopsis: Golmammad and Golnesa, a young Afghan couple, are illegal immigrants who are working in a traditional brick making kiln in Iran. Following the events happening to them, their lives undergo changes

Director: Sattar Chamani Gol

Writer: Vida Salehi

Stars: Saeed Dakh, Masoud Mohammadi, Ali Mohammad Radmanesh

Produced by : Sattar Chamani Gol- producer

Yousef Karimi-producer

Music by :Kareng Karbasi

Sattar Chamani Go

Sattar Chamani Gol was born in 1979, Kurdistan – Iran. Director of 8 shorts fiction and 19 Documentary and 4 serials for TV. Golnesa is his first feature film. l

Best Feature Script- LEFT OF CHOPIN

Synopsis: Rinko and Kentaro have been childhood friends since childhood, and are high school music teachers who are called Tatsuma-sensei because of their unique appearance. Keitarou’s piano skill is always the best among his students, and he is a genius who also composes. Rachmaninoff, played by Kitarou’s big hand, was wonderful and had the ability to be second to none in technique. Rinko, on the other hand, loves the piano but is clumsy and hard-working. She longed for Chopin. However, the “Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake” and “focal dystonia”, a big test that could close the path as a pianist, hit them. Despite struggling and suffering, the two pursue “sounds that resonate with the soul.”

Director: Yoshino Takemoto

Producer: Shuhei Kondo

Special Award Of The Festival Goddess On The Throne For Feature Film – AN EXPAT’S TALE

Synopsis:

The film is the story of Roshi who made his dream come true but lost it. It is Roshi’s love story with the beautiful Spaniard. Above all, it is the story of great decision-making in the life of maintaining integrity. People make their own destinies. Ironic, emotional to grab on a journey of love, despair, intrigue, pain, humor, hope.

Pluton Vasi- Director

Director:

Pluton Vasi

Writers:

Ylljet Alicka, Ylljet Alicka

Stars:

Margent Caushi, Alert Celoaliaj, Ardian Cerga

Produced by

Gunnar Dedio	…	co-producer
Pluton Vasi	…	producer
Ferdinand Sula	…	executive producer
Ervin Kotorri	…	executive producer
Vjollca Dedei	…	producer
Driton Sahiti	…	co-producer