Celebrating its 15^th edition this year, ZagrebDox Pro handed out its awards to the best projects from among the 12 that were developed during the four-day training programme in order to subsequently be presented at the event’s Pitching Forum (see the news). The ceremony took place at the festival centre on Friday 1 March, where Nenad Puhovski, the director of ZagrebDox, welcomed the guests and participants, and then workshop mentors Leena Pasanen and Stefano Tealdi presented the winners.

The main HBO Europe Award, consisting of a diploma and €2,000 for further development, was granted to the Serbian-Croatian project Museum of the Revolution by director-producer Srđan Keča, which was presented at ZagrebDox by its co-producer, Vanja Jambrović, of Zagreb-based Restart, and is being supported by Film Center Serbia. Taking place in the labyrinthine basement of the abandoned and almost utopian Museum of the Revolution of the People of Yugoslavia in Belgrade, the film, which is currently in production, follows the unexpected close relationship that develops between a little girl and an old woman who both live amongst these ruins.

The Serbian project 4 Goodnight Stories, which is currently in pre-production and was presented by its director, Anđelka Vujinović, and co-writer and DoP Mija Mujović, received the ZagrebDox Pro Online Mentor Award, comprising a diploma and a one-year online mentorship with Želimir Žilnik. The documentary will follow a year at the Gerontological Center of Belgrade, the biggest nursing home in Serbia, in order to explore the meaning of old age by observing the prevailing mood that dominates the final moments of life.

Finally, the best project at this year’s edition, in the eyes of all of the panellists, was Hungary’s Raising Predators by director Réka Ugron, produced by László Józs for Speak Easy Project (SEP), which received the ZagrebDox Pro DCP Award, comprising a diploma and a DCP upon completion of the project. The film, which is in development, captures the life of a dysfunctional family, where the mother has a hard time establishing an emotional connection with her children, as she is still struggling with her own childhood traumas. Meanwhile, the family strives to breed birds of prey with the perfect genes.

Here is the complete list of award winners:

HBO Europe Award
Museum of the Revolution – Srđan Keča
Producers: Srđan Keča, Vanja Jambrović
Production companies: UZROK (Serbia), Restart (Croatia)

ZagrebDox Pro Online Mentor Award
4 Goodnight Stories – Anđelka Vujinović
Producer: Nikola Mitrović
Production company: BOJAN PALIKUĆA PR INGLJUN (Serbia)

ZagrebDox Pro DCP Award
Raising Predators – Réka Ugron
Producer: László Józsa
Production company: Speak Easy Project (SEP) (Hungary)