The 25th Message to Man International Film Festival is finished and we are happy to announce its results. Over the course of the festival week the viewers saw over 200 films, of which over 100 were Russian premières and 5 were world premières. The 25th Festival has demonstrated that in terms of the scale of the competition program, Message to Man continues to be one of the leading film festivals in Russia and Europe.
FRANCOFONIA by Alexander Sokurov was shown as the closing film of the festival. The film was presented by the director. The closing ceremony of the 25th Message to Man International Film Festival was held on October, 2nd at the Bolshoi Drama Theater in St. Petersburg. The guests of the ceremony included Brilliant Mendoza, Jean Roy, Mikhail Iampolski, Vladimir Posner, Rudolf Thome, Velimir Žilnik, Christiane Büchner, Tim Webb, Andreas Sinn’s, Pietro Marcello, Andrey Vandenko, Nikolai Pskov, Mark Hartley, Rüdiger Suchsland, Tue Steen Müller and other jury members, award winners, and honorary guests of the festival from 22 countries.
Also in attendance at the closing ceremony of Message to Man were film directors, actors, artists, entrepreneurs and members of the St. Petersburg city government: Vincent Perez, Viktor Kosakovsky, Alexander Sokurov, Dmitry Meskhiev, Alexander Rodnyansky, Konstantin Bronzit, Sergey Sholokhov, Pavel Smetana, Ivan Ostrokhovsky and many others.
At the closing ceremony, the festival juries announced the winners, the director of the festival presented overall results of this year’s Message to Man and set goals for the future. For the first time in festival’s history, the opening ceremony of Message to Man was held on Palace square. The grand celebration was attended by more than 20,000 people. Many Russian and international film stars took part in the 25th festival. Among the jury members and special guests of Message to Man were Nastassja Kinski, Brilliant Mendoza, Jean Roy, Mikhail Iampolski, Vladimir Posner, Rudolf Thome, Velimir Žilnik, Alice Rohrwacher and 45 other guests from 22 different countries.
Some of the most talked about films at the festival were HUMAN by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, LOVE by Gaspar Noé, FRANCOFONIA by Alexander Sokurov, THE BRAND NEW TESTAMENT by Jaco Van Dermal, and CRIMEA IS OURS (#krymnash) by Vasily Sigarev. Throughout the festival week the screenings were sold out, some of them long before the showtimes. Altogether more than 30,000 people attended the festival’s events between September, 26th and October, 2nd.
The Grand-prix of the Anniversary 25th International Film Festival “Message to Man” was awarded to CALL ME MARIANNA by Karolina Bielawska (Poland).
SPECIAL PRIZES OF THE 25TH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL “MESSAGE TO MAN”:
1. The Eclectic Translations Prize went to the animation film SUGARLESS TEA by Sai Selvarajan. The prize was presented by the director of Eclectic Translations William Hackett-Jones. The prize will be sent to the director.
2. The Danya Gurevich Prize went to the Director of Photography of THE CONVERSATION Pavel Skvortsov. The prize was presented by Ludmila, Gurevich family friend.
3. The Viktor Astafiyev Prize went to EDGES OF MEMORY by Anton Moiseenko. The prize was presented by the daughter of the writer Viktor Astafiyev Anastasia Astafieva.
4. The Pavel Kogan Prize went to IN SEARCH OF HAPPINESS by Dmitry Sidorov and Svetlana Demidova. The prize was presented by the President of Pavel and Lyalya Fund Ludmila Stanukinas.
5. The Bellona foundation Special Prize went to SEE NO EVIL by Jos de Putter (Netherlands, Belgium). The prize was presented by the director of Bellona Nikolay Rybakov and vice-director Elena Kobe’s. The prize was accepted by the hHonorary Consul of the Netherlands in St. Petersburg Martin Groenstege.
MAIN AWARDS OF THE 25TH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL “MESSAGE TO MAN”:
The Honorary Prize of the 25th Message to Man International Film Festival was awarded to actor, director, and screenwriter Vincent Perez, honorary guest of the festival. The prize was presented by the President of the festival Alexey Uchitel.
Special Prize for the Contribution to the Arts was awarded to Brilliant Mendoza. The prize was presented by the President of the festival Alexey Uchitel.
Special Prize from the principle sponsor of the festival, LLC LENTA, leading hypermarket chain in Russia, was awarded to the documentary film SPIRIT IN MOTON by Sofia Gehweiler, Julia Byvsheva and Sofia Kutcher.
The St. Petersburg Labour Union Federation Special Prize for best documentary film about the working man (RUR 100,000) was awarded to SIBERIAN FLOATING HOSPITAL by Tatiana Sobolewa (Russia). The prize was presented by the vice-president of the St. Petersburg Labour Union Federation Maria Artiukhina.
Message to Man Honorary President’s Prize went to VARICELLA, short documentary film by Viktor Kosakovsky (Russia). The prize was presented by the Honorary President of Message to Man director Mikhail Litvyakov.
The Student Jury Prize was awarded to THE OTHER SIDE by Roberto Minervini (France, Italy). The prize was presented by the members of the Student Jury Maksim Pospelkov, Vladlena Sandu, and Natalia Filipchenko.
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Prize went to ABOVE AND BELOW by Nicolas Steiner (Switzerland, Germany, Unites States). The prize was presented by the President of the FIPRESCI Jury Cüneyt Cebenoyan.
The Russian Press Jury Prize was awarded to CALL ME MARIANNA by Karolina Bielawska (Poland). The prize was presented by the president of the Russian Press Jury Vladimir Posner.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION OF EXPERIMENTAL FILMS In Silico
Centaur Prize and USD 1,000 for best experimental film was awarded to OVER by Jorn Threlfall (UK), for a unique way of looking at an important social issue.
A special mention was also given to three other works: ОBJECT by Paulina Skibińska (Poland), for a tactful and poetic representation of death; SUPPORTING FILM by Douwe Dijkstra (the Netherlands), for a creative way of self-reflection; and FIGURA by Katarzyna Gondek (Poland, Belgium), for independence and a healthy sense of humor.
The prizes were presented by the members of the Jury of the International Competition of Experimental Films Alexander Dashevsky, Irina Evteeva and Jan Ehlen.
NATIONAL COMPETITION OF DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Diploma of the National Competition “For breaking stereotypes” was awarded to IN SEARCH OF HAPPINESS by Dmitry Sidorov and Svetlana Demidova (Russia). The prize was presented by the president of the National Competition Jury Mikhail Iampolski.
Centaur Prize and RUR 20,000 for best debut film in the National Competition went to YAMAHA by Inna Omelchenko. The prize was presented by a member of the National Competition Jury, writer, philosopher, professor of the University of Florida Dragan Kujundžić.
Centaur Prize and RUR 30,000 for best short documentary film in the National Competition went to YAMAHA by Inna Omelchenko. The prize was presented by a member of the National Competition Jury, philosopher, professor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Yoel Regev.
Centaur Prize and RUR 30,000 for best full-length documentary film in the National Competition went to CEREMONY by Elena Laskari. The prize was presented by a member of the National Competition Jury, writer, philosopher, professor of New York University Mikhail Iampolski.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
Special Prize of the International Jury was awarded to FREE BULLET by Caroline Detournay and Paulina Pisarev. The prize was presented by the president of the International Jury Brilliant Mendoza.
Centaur Prize and USD 1,000 for best debut was awarded to THE SHEPHERD’S SONG by Vahram Mkhitaryan (Poland, Armenia). The prize was presented by a member of the International Jury, writer, journalist, honorary president of FIPRESCI Jean Roy.
Centaur Prize and USD 2,000 for best animated film was awarded to WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT COSMOS by Konstantin Bronzit (Russia). The prize was presented by a member of the International Jury, Acting Head of Animation at the Royal College of Arts (UK) Tim Webb.
Centaur Prize and USD 1,000 for best short narrative film was awarded to RETURN OF ERKIN by Maria Guskova (Russia). The prize was presented by members of the International Jury, director of photography Andreas Sinn’s and film director Alexander Zeldovich.
Centaur Prize and USD 1,000 for best short documentary film was awarded to IF MAMA AIN’T HAPPY, NOBODY’S HAPPY by Mea Dols de Jong (the Netherlands). The prize was presented by members of the International Jury, director Pietro Marcello and Christiane Büchner.
Golden Centaur Grand Prix and USD 5,000 for best film was awarded to CALL ME MARIANNA by Karolina Bielawska (Poland). The prize was presented by the president of the International Jury Brilliant Mendoza.
