‘My Mother, the Monster,’ About a Mom Who Dons a Scary Mask, Wins CineLink Award
Olivr Rudolfs My Mother, the Monster has won the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award at Sarajevo Film Festivals CineLink, its industry section that featured projects from Southeast Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
The Hungarian feature film project, which is produced by Genovva Petrovits at Kino Alfa, received a cash prize of 20,000 ($21,727).
The film focuses on va, a mother in her forties who is disappointed with her life and tired of feeling insignificant. She finds a new identity behind a scary monster mask which liberates her.
The Post Republic Award, in the CineLink Work in Progress section, went to One of Those Days Where Hemme Dies, directed by Murat Fratolu. The project, which is produced by Nefes Polat at Turkeys Nefes Films, receives post-production services worth 30,000.
The film shows one day in the life of Eyp, a poor guy in the city, working hard drying and salting tomatoes under the summer sun. He gets frustrated about not being given his daily wage and decides to kill Hemme, but the two men end up at a wedding together.
The CineLink Impact Award went to Ensar Altays Kanto, produced by Suleyman Civliz at Turkeys Fikirdkm. It receives production services worth 20,000. It is a story about an older woman who disappears on a snowy evening. Her friends, the police, and even her family think she has just run away and wants to be alone, so they stop looking for her, except for one person.
The Female Voices Cinelink Award and 10,000 went to drama series Connections, created by Tea Korolija, Maja Todorovi and Sran aper, and produced by Serbias Adrenalin. It is an anthology series that explores various aspects of romantic relationships, delving deep into the characters psychology and examining how society and the environment influence them.
The Croatian Audiovisual Center Drama Award, with a 15,000 cash prize, was won by North Macedonian TV series Adventures of a Turbo Folk Princess. The creators are Andrey Volkashin and Peter Vulchev, and the production company is Oxo Production. After accidentally poisoning her gangster fianc, clumsy sweetheart Vaska runs away with his money to fulfil her dream of becoming a pop star, mentored by the short-tempered prostitute Eboni.
CINELINK CO-PRODUCTION MARKET
EURIMAGES CO-PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT AWARD 20,000
Jury: Eleni Chandrinou, Greek National Representative Eurimages; Labina Mitevska, SistersBrother Mitevski; Oliver Neumann, Freibeuterfilm Gmbh
Winner: My Mother, the Monster
Director: Olivr Rudolf
Production Company: Kino Alfa
Country: Hungary
FILM CENTER MONTENEGRO AND FILM CENTER SERBIA CINELINK AWARD
Jury: Ivan Karl, Film Center Serbia; Sanja Jovanovi, Film Center Montenegro; Behrooz Hashemian, Silkroad Production; edomir Kolar, A.S.A.P. Films
Film Center Montenegro Cinelink Award 10,000
Winner: A Long Embrace
Director: Gabriel Tzafka
Production company: Wild at Heart
Country: Greece
Film Center Serbia Cinelink Award 10,000
Winner: Primavera
Director: Duan Kasalica
Production company: Meander Film
Country: Montenegro
ARTEKINO INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 6,000
Jury: Mathilde Hersant, Arte France Cinma
Winner: Antonivka
Director: Kateryna Gornostai
Production company: Moon Man
Country: Ukraine
CINELINK CO-PRODUCTION MARKET CINELINK DRAMA
FEMALE VOICES CINELINK AWARD, FILM CENTER SLOVENIA 10,000
Jury: Nataa Buar, Film Center Slovenia; Anamaria Antoci, Tangaj Productions; Tamara Tatishvili, Focal Medici
Winner: Connections
Creators: Tea Korolija, Maja Todorovi, Sran aper
Production companies: Adrenalin
Country: Serbia
CINELINK DRAMA
Jury: Sran Vuleti, director; Cia Edstrm, Gteborg Film Festival; Danna Stern, In Transit Productions
Croatian Audiovisual Center Drama Award 15,000
Winner: Adventures of a Turbo Folk Princess
Creators: Andrey Volkashin, Peter Vulchev
Production Company: Oxo Production
Countries: North Macedonia and Bulgaria
TV Drama Vision Pitch Award 2,000
Winner: Amazons of Istanbul
Creators: Nisan Da, Mge zen
Production company: Solis Film
Country: Turkey
CINELINK WORK IN PROGRESS
Jury: Sbastien Chesneau, Cercamon; Petra Gobel, Post Republic; Esra Demirkiran, Turkish National Radio Television; Jim Kolmar, South By Southwest Film Festival; Jean-Marc Zekri, Quinzaines Des Cinastes
Turkish National Radio Television Award 25,000
Winner: As If You Were Never Here
Director: Eti Tsicko
Production companies: Lama Films, Intrig Internazionale and 20 Steps
Countries: Israel, Italy and Georgia
Post Republic Award In Kind Post-Production Services Worth 30,000
Winner: One of Those Days Where Hemme Dies
Director: Murat Fratolu
Production company: Nefes Films
Country: Turkey
CINELINK IMPACT AWARD
Jury: Faridah Gbadamosi, Tribeca Enterprises; Amy Shepherd, Think-Film Impact Production; Rory Thost, Participant
Think-Film Impact Production 20,000 In Kind
Winner: Kanto
Director: Ensar Altay
Production company: Fikirdkm
Country: Turkey
DOCU ROUGH CUT BOUTIQUE
Jury: Tereza Keilova, HBO Europe; Eugen Kelemen, Avanpost; Catherine Leclef, Cat Marcel Maiga, Dok Leipzig; Lejla Dedi, Al Jazeera Balkans; Sofia Tocar, Institute of Documentary Film
Avanpost Award In Kind Post-Production Services Worth 20,000
Winner: Adelina: Symphony of Longing and Estrangement
Director: Rati Tsiteladze
Production company: Artway Film
Country: Georgia
CatDocs Award 2,000
Winner: Your Life Without Me
Director: Anna Rubi
Production company: Somnus Film
Countries: Hungary, Sweden
HBO Max Award 2,000
Winner: Adelina: Symphony of Longing and Estrangement
Director: Rati Tsiteladze
Production company: Artway Film
Country: Georgia
Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival/Ajb Doc Award 2,000
Winner: Pavilion 6
Director: Goran Devi
Production company: 15th Art Productions
Country: Croatia
East Silver Caravan Award In Kind Distribution Service Worth 3,500
Winner: Your Life Without Me
Director: Anna Rubi
Production company: Somnus Film
Countries: Hungary, Sweden
Dok Leipzig Preview Award Invitation to Present a Project at Dok Leipzig 2023
Winner: Pavilion 6
Director: Goran Devi
Production company: 15th Art Productions
Country: Croatia