02/05/2017 - Vitaly Mansky’s Close Relations scooped Best Documentary, while Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson’s Heartstone delighted the festival’s audiences

Director Hana Jušić on stage at the awards ceremony (© Christoph Thorwartl/subtext.at)

The 14^th edition of Crossing Europe came to an end in Linz, Austria, on Sunday 30 April, after a highly successful edition and the handing out of the gathering’s awards on Saturday night. Three deserving winners stand out in the awards list.

Quit Staring at My Plate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hana Jušić
film profile] by Hana Jušić (Denmark/Croatia) snagged the Award for Best Fiction Film, worth €10,000, with the jury (comprising Cosima Finkbeiner of German world sales agent Beta Cinema, Karlovy Vary artistic director Karel Och, and Andrei Tănăsescu of the Toronto International Film Festival) justifying their decision with the following: “With a subtle, contagious sense of humour, and growing dramatic power, we are brought into a unique directorial vision that depicts the tenderness and cruelty of family relationships. Complex and provocative, heartfelt and energetic, it conveys the message that it's never too late to come of age.”

Meanwhile, the Audience Award in the same section, which comes with €1,000 plus material prizes, was bestowed upon Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson’s tender, Iceland-set coming-of-age story Heartstone [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
film profile] (Denmark/Iceland).

In the documentary section, the Social Awareness Award for Best Documentary (worth €5,000) went to Vitaly Mansky’s exploration of his own family history Close Relations [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Germany/Lithuania/Estonia/Ukraine). The jury, which was made up of DOK Leipzig programme coordinator Lina Dinkla, new Gijón Film Festival head Alejandro Díaz Castaño and director-producer Audrius Stonys, said: “We want to honour a work by a brave filmmaker, a work that comes from the necessity of telling the truth. This film relies on a strong cinematic language and perfectly merges a personal story and the current events of a war.”

The festival headed up by Christine Dollhofer, which this year welcomed a record number of 23,000 visitors to 182 screenings and 16 supporting programmes, returns for its 15^th-anniversary edition next year, from 25-30 April 2018.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Best Fiction Film
Quit Staring at My Plate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hana Jušić
film profile] – Hana Jušić (Denmark/Croatia)

Audience Award
Heartstone [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
film profile] – Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson (Denmark/Iceland)

Social Awareness Award for Best Documentary
Close Relations [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Vitaly Mansky (Germany/Lithuania/Estonia/Ukraine)

Local Artist Award

Money Prize
Oderland. Fontane – Bernhard Sallmann (Germany)

Voucher
Kaugummizigaretten – Marie Luise Lehner (Austria)

Innovative Award – Local Artist
Fetish Finger – Susanna Flock (Austria) 

Creative Region Music Video Audience Award
"Naked Thoughts" by Alpine Dweller – Josef Fink, David Haunschmidt (Austria)