BFM 40. The Winners
BFM — 40
BFM — 40
Sentinelle Sud / South Sentinel by Mathieu Gérault (France, 2021) is the winner of the main competition Mostra Concorso of the 40h edition of Bergamo Film Meeting. Chosen by the audience, the film will receive the Bergamo Film Meeting Prize, worth 5,000 €. The international jury, led by Volker Schlöndorff (director), Frédéric Boyer (director at Les Arcs Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival) and Nicoletta Romeo (co-director Trieste Film Festival and film producer) decided to award the Best Direction Prize, worth 2,000 € to Crai nou / Blue Moon by Alina Grigore (Romania, 2021).
The audience has also awarded the CGIL Prize (2,000 €) section to the documentary Calendar Girls by Maria Loohufvud and Love Martinsen (Sweden, 2021). The Prize – La Sortie de l’Usine of the CGIL jury, decided by the union delegates of CGIL Bergamo (1,000 €), goes to Det er ikke slut endnu / It Is Not Over Yet by Louise Detlefsen, Denmark (2021). A special mention was awarded to Pasienio Paukščiai / Before they Meet by Vytautas Puidokas (Belgium, Lithuania, Croatia, Norway, 2021) and to Shi Shi Shi / A Marble Travelogue by Sean Wang (Netherlands, China, France, Greece, 2021).
COMPETITION EXHIBITION/FIRST PRIZE BERGAMO FILM MEETING
Sentinelle Sud / South Sentinel / Sentinella Sud [t.l.]
by Mathieu Gérault, Francia, 2021, 97′
After an ambush that decimated his unit, the soldier Christian Lafayette is back in France from Afghanistan. While he trying to resume a normal life, he seems to choose the vicious circle of violence and crime.
COMPETITION EXHIBITION/SECOND PRIZE BERGAMO FILM MEETING
Nö
by Dietrich Brüggemann, Germania, 2021, 119′
Dina and Michael are in their early thirties. He is a doctor, she is an actress. They are happy together until Michael thinks about breaking up. She says: «Nope» («Nö»). In thirteen episodes, we then accompany our two heroes while they maneuver through life over the years and try to not lose sight of their love.
COMPETITION EXHIBITION/THIRD PRIZE BERGAMO FILM MEETING
El Radioaficionado / The Radio Amateur / Il radioamatore
by Iker Elorrieta, Spagna, 2021, 87′
Following his mother’s death, Nikolas, a young 30-year-old with autism, decides to return to his hometown. He wants to fulfill a mission and reach the high seas in two days, but it won’t be easy.
COMPETITION EXHIBITION/BEST DIRECTOR AWARD
Crai nou / Blue Moon / Luna blu [t.l.]
by Alina Grigore, Romania, 2021, 85′
Irina lives in a mountain village in Romania, but she dreams of University in Bucharest. The young woman struggles to achieve higher education and escape the violence of her extended dysfunctional family. Using solely her brain and her feminine instincts Irina drives all the aggressors in her life into the depth of a subdued psychological game.
The jury decided unanimously, without any doubt and with conviction, to award the prize for best direction of the 40th edition of the Bergamo Film Meeting, to Alina Grigore for her debut feature film Blue Moon, for her Chekhovian humanity, in a world of globalized confusion, and for her mature work of writing and mise en scène.
CLOSE-UP/BEST DOC CGIL PRIZE
Calendar Girls
by Maria Loohufvud, Love Martinsen, Svezia, 2021, 84′
Calendar Girls is an all-female dance team of seniors in Florida that performs over 100 public and private events each year, determined to prove that age is just a number.
CLOSE-UP/CGIL PRIZE JURY – “LA SORTIE DE L’USINE”
Det er ikke slut endnu / It Is Not Over Yet / Non è ancora finita [t.l.]
by Louise Detlefsen, Danimarca, 2021, 96′
Dagmarsminde is a small nursing home for patients with severe dementia. As an alternative to the sterility and indifference that often comes with long-term eldercare, their treatment method is based on hugs, conversation, laughter, and community.
In a society where when you stop being productive you stop being human, the nurses of Dagmarsminde show us how the respect for persons and their self-determination is a fundamental and sometimes forgotten value. The loss of autonomy represents a traumatic moment in the life of all of us. The approach to care shown in “It is not over yet” is holistic, delicate, intelligent and informed. Candidly shot, the film is a window into a world of values that we should make our own.
FIRST MENTION
Pasienio Paukščiai / Before they Meet / Uccelli di confine
by Vytautas Puidokas, Belgio, Lituania, Croazia, Norvegia, 2021, 50′
On each side of the border between Lithuania and the Russian exclave Kaliningrad, there is an ornithologic station, researching the migration of millions of birds crossing this border region. Both ornithologic stations make a first attempt to cross borders through a common bird research project.
A film of great impact in showing the dualism between the freedom of nature and the oppression of borders. A current theme that makes us think about the many hostilities present in the world and about the escalation of conflicts. Even though nature teaches us the opposite, too often walls and barricades are built up, that are heavy burdens on the shoulders of peoples, cultures and scientific knowledge.
SECOND MENTION
Shi Shi Shi / A Marble Travelogue / Un diario di viaggio in marmo [t.l.]
by Sean Wang, Paesi Bassi, Cina, Francia, Grecia, 2021, 97′
Sean Wang’s documentary explores globalization through the epic journey of Greek marble extracted from quarries in the Peloponnese and shipped to China, the largest stone market in the world. In its various segments, the film tells a merciless story about today’s world made up of ruthless market rules, wild consumerism, unsustainable production processes. If we don’t normally stop to think about the real price of the things we consume, “Shi Shi Shi” forces us to think about the irrationality of global production processes.
Tutti i film di BFM 40
