Report of the Jury
28th International Festival of Ethnological Film
Between the 6th and 9th October 2019, the Jury of the 28th International Festival of Ethnological Film, composed by Vesna Marjanovic, PhD, ethnologist/anthropologist, Milovan Pandurevic, screenwriter and director, and Dragan Nikolic, playwright and screenwriter, editor of the film programme at the Belgrade’s Dom Omladine, has seen and evaluated 21 films of the Festival’s competition programme, of which six films are produced domestically.
This year’s main topic of International Festival of Etnological Film is People on the move, a general trait of civilization from its inception until today. This years repertoire of selected films shows the mobility of people on all levels, encompassing both individual and group movements in spaces known or unknown. When human mobility is concerned, the primary issue are migratory processes that have taken place either voluntarily or by force throughout the history of civilization, within the same territory or across state borders, individually as well as in groups large and small. The reasons for this type of movement can differ, and can be viewed from many angles: religious, class, gender, national, tribal, economical, emancipatory and others.
The Jury of the 28.IFEF rewarded the following special prizes to the films:
The Special mention for the contribution to intangible cultural heritage:
Sakreštan, Croatia 17', 2018.y.
DIRECTED BY:
Luka Klapan
PRODUCED BY:
Luka Klapan
SCRIPTWRITER:
Luka Klapan
CINEMATOGRAPHER:
Luka Klapan
EDITED BY:
Luka Klapan
This film is developing through a line of religious and everyday symbols which represent objects of worship, surrounded with aura of deep moral obligations specific to the given micro locality. It is important to notice the mobility of local community during the Assumption of Mary festival, during which local customs are nurtured and commitment to the faith of the community are shown. Also, the film articulates the role of one old local man, who is obligated with all customs proceedings and their performance in the right way. With specific doing of a one man (primus inter pares) the whole community and its collective customs are preserved and kept as part of group and personal identities.
The Special mention for the best ethnographic record
Paper, Horse and Birds, Serbia, 30', 2017.y.
DIRECTED BY:
Zoran Tairović
PRODUCED BY:
Jovana Manojlović
SCRIPTWRITER:
Zoran Tairović
CINEMATOGRAPHER:
Mirko Todorović, Daniel Toader
EDITED BY:
Filip Marinković
Everyday life of the communities living on margins of society keeps the attention of many documentary filmmakers, but only in few and rare cases, moving pictures can show all the emotions and hard life this communities face every day. ZORAN TAIROVIC, screenwriter and director of this film, in a very skillful way shows the audience the sublime existential problems which collectors of secondary materials, Roma people face. We see a family fighting for existence, with recordings of daily communication and symbolic manners in every day contact between family members, who still don’t stop expressing their deep and warm affections to each other, and also to their only helper – their horse. This ethnographic recording also portraits the stereotypes of Roma people in Serbian society.
The special mention for cinematography:
Spirit of Jaguar, Slovakia, 58`, 2018. y.
DIRECTED BY:
Pavol Barabaš
PRODUCED BY:
Alena Koscova
SCRIPTWRITER:
Pavol Barabaš
CINEMATOGRAPHER:
Pavol Barabaš
EDITED BY:
Robert Karovic
Camera held by Pavol Barabas captures in an exceptional and crafty way things which many failed to record in the areas of the Amazonia. With its striking images, film takes us into untouched parts of Amazonia, where human being from abroad didn’t set its foot. Director and cinematographer of this film managed to show us the mysterious parts of Amazon forests, life of indian tribes hidden from the eyes of civilization, their harmlessness and everything that makes their daily life in these paradise-like region.
The special mention for editing
The Way of the East, Serbia, 59`, 2017. y.
DIRECTED BY:
Katarina Mutić
PRODUCED BY:
Milan Stojanović, SENS Produkcija
SCRIPTWRITER:
Ivan Stančić, Katarina Mutić
CINEMATOGRAPHER:
Nemanja Veselinović
EDITED BY:
Nataša Pantić
This ethnographic record approaches the life of one Wallachian spellmaker in a very uncommon and deeply film like way. Drawn right into the story, we are discovering how functions a business life of this unusual village “bussiness woman’, which earns enough to feed her family. By a skilled and successful editors hand of Nataša Pantić, we go into the story first hand, looking into different angles and storylines, we meet all the members of this Wallachian family, their customers and their everyday jobs, choirs, arguments and free time which takes most of their day and in same time is the hardest part to capture in a right way. The high quality of this film is recognized for its masterful editing skills, capturing all the intangible and complex moments making the unique rhythm and tempo of the film.
The special mention for sound
And what is Summer Saying, India, 23`, 2018. y.
DIRECTED BY:
Pajal Kapadia
PRODUCED BY: FT2
SCRIPTWRITER: Pajal Kapadia
CINEMATOGRAPHER:
Majank Kurana
EDITED BY:
Ganšjam Šimpi
The sound in this specific creation makes a nice harmony with other film elements, and it shows itself through whispers of women and their memories for lost love and as an addition we hear the sound of wind from the jungle. Voices are like poetry which underwrite the picture with mystery.
The Award for the best national film (Тhe Chinese will come)
Доћи ће жути људи са истока и пиће воду са Мораве, Србија, 72', 2018.y.
DIRECTED BY:
Tanja Brzaković
PRODUCED BY:
Nebojša Miljković
CINEMATOGRAPHER:
Aleksandrija Ajduković
SCRIPWRITER:
Tanja Brzaković
The topic is dedicated to Chinese immigrants in Serbia as well as the official Serbian foreign policy which expects help from China for its economic and technological advancement. In the touch of two different cultures and mutual “friendly” wishes and hopes, the Chinese still remain on the margins of society, inclusion is slow-paced, and their lives continue in the form of repatriation or even return to Serbia with new hopes.
The Award for the best international film:
Sing, Russia/ Poland, 52', 2018.y.
DIRECTED BY:
Olga Korotkaja
PRODUCED BY:
Dorota Rožkovska
SRIPTWRITER:
Olga Korotkaja
CINEMATOGRAPHER:
Marta Stišjak
The film points out the values of traditional heritage which refuses to be divided by gender in contemporary age. By ritual codes of Tuva republic people in Russia, specific type of throat singing was reserved for men only in such traditional patriarchal culture. However, in modern times, women also show an interest in a way of nutruring this specific kind of vocal heritage. This film is following one woman from Tuva, who is a teacher of this kind of singing and between her students there are even two girls, which come in secrecy to avoid being punished for entering the forbidden zone of men's ritual.
The Grand prix „Dragoslav Antonijevic“ to the film
(The Fading Village), China, 173', 2019.y.
DIRECTED BY
Fengfej Lju
PRODUCED BY
Lju Ziđing, Đin Li
SCREENPLAY
Lju Fejfang, Ruven Miao
CAMERA
Lju Fejfang, Čiaming Čeng
EDITED BY
Hengđi Guo
An anthropological story dedicated to village depopulation and elders who remain in their homes counting their last days.
The film follows everyday and festive ocassions of the inhabitants of a mountain village in the northwestern part of the Shanxi province throughout the year. Owing to isolation and hard life of cattle-herders (goat-herders) and peasants (potato farmers), the young leave the village for urban environments, while the elderly population remains in the village and continue to live by traditional patterns. The film shows empathy for the elderly population and their hardworking life, shattered by age. Village depopulation and disappearance is the fate of many places worldwide, including ours. Mobility and abandonment of rural areas especially in the second half of the 20th cenutry affects the socio-economic shaping of villages until this day, and ultimately leads to its disappearance.
In Belgrade, 10.10.2019.Members of the Jury:
Dr Vesna Marjanović
Milovan Pandurević
Dragan Nikolić
Report of Student Jury
Winner in the category Best student film:
„Strangers“ - Laura Kansy / Oskar Zoche
From techical and aesthetical aspect, this film attracts us with complexed use of colours an d sounds which contribute to the dynamics of the film’s narrative, but also to the experience of the characters outside the room in which the dialogues occur.
Using the dialogues of four complete strangers, the authors of the film are documenting the complexity of interpersonal and social relations that they are facing. Through life stories of four persons from different social, gender, generational, economic, religious and class backgrounds we find out something about problems and challenges of life in India today. Through four seemingly essential fields, which are love, money, faith and class the authors are bringing out different perspectives of the main characters reveaing mutual problems but also different points of view. Besides different attitudes towards social, cultural and economic aspect of life, the dialogues of the main characters are revealing perhaps the essentially important relation towars traditional and modern values in a society that changes. Confrontations present in the film are pointing out how a dialogue between different sides can bring out certain social tensions, but also help in overcoming those tensions, as well as achieving understanding or even affection.
Seeing the film through perspectives of four among many different identities in Indian society, we notice certain similarities with modern social challenges that many societies are facing, including our own. In that sense, this film reflects the phenomena of glocalisation processes, as well as replacing and including traditional and modern cultural relation which are, in a specific way, present in the lives of different social groups.
Student judges:
Danilo Trbojević, Marija Mrkić, Teodora Smiljanić.