Magnus picks up top award at goEast
At the eighth edition of the goEast Festival of Central and Eastern European Film (see news) – which was held from April 9-15 in Wiesbaden – Kadri Kõusaar’s UK/Estonian co-production Magnus picked up the Golden Lys Award for Best Film, worth €10,000.
The jury, presided by German producer Eberhard Junkersdorf, praised this extraordinary representation of the existential angst of a young boy in search of stability in a shifting society. The film also received the FIPRESCI Award.
The Award for Best Director in the City of Wiesbaden went to Serbia’s Stefan Arsenijević for his subtle film Love and Other Crimes [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which screened at the Berlinale in February in the Panorama section (see news).
The Flower Bridge by Romanian director Thomas Ciulei was crowned Best Documentary by the Remembrance, Responsibility and Future Foundation.
Eva Nejman’s Ukrainian title At the River picked up the Foreign Affairs Ministry Award and special mentions went to Aleksej Popogrebskij’s Russian film The Simple Things and to Andrej Paunov’s German/Bulgarian co-production The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories.
In the documentary category, Kerstin Nickig’s German/Polish title Nowhere in Europe also received an award.
Other prizes were awarded to shorts, as well as to experimental, animated and student films.
The festival organisers were delighted at the loyalty of the participating institutions; the enthusiasm shown by audiences and professionals at the different events, including discussions and homages; and the record number of viewers (over 9500). Several screenings sold out (the German premieres of Nikita Michalkov’s 12 and Andrzej Wajda’s Katyn [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrzej Wajda
interview: Michal Kwiecinski
film profile] proved to be major attractions).
Festival director Christine Kopf says she is pleased that goEast has become a "lively platform". The festival – which is mainly funded by the local authorities – also receives financial support from the MEDIA Programme.
(Translated from French)
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
