Statement
After a careful and difficult process of deliberation, we have decided to give two special mentions to the films which gave life to our discussions.
The first special mention goes to a creative and a complex filmmaking approach which provides an all-encompassing insight into the world of immigrants - Evaporating Borders, Iva Radivojevic, 2013, USA, Cyprus.
The second special mention goes to a film which presents an incredibly human story of inhuman times shown through striking, metaphorical cinematography - Valley of Sighs, Mihai Andrei Leaha, Andrei Crişan, Iulia Hossu, 2013, Romania.
The winning film pushes the borders between guilt and innocence. It rejects the tacit rules of traditional portrayal of victimhood in documentary filmmaking. It is a sophisticated narrative fraught with ethical dilemmas, pointing to wider issues of incarceration and the punishment system we often take for granted. The film plays with the judgment of the characters, contributing to a cumulative and, at times contradictory, process of humanization. It left us, the jury, with a painful realization of the injustices inherent in the human existence.
The winner is Cain’s Children, Marcell Gerő, 2014, France, Hungary.
Jury members: Annabella Schnabel (Hungary) / Katarina Kosmina (Serbia) / Jacob Verhagen (Canada) / Payman Shamsian (Iran) / Svitlana Shymko (Ukraine)