Motovun Film Festival

Motovun Film Festival
Location Motovun, Croatia
Founded 1999
Language International
http://www.motovunfilmfestival.com

Motovun Film Festival is an annual film festival established in 1999 and held in Motovun, Croatia. It usually takes place over 5–6 days in late July or early August. Motovun Film Festival is also the name of the company organizing the festival.

Overview

Festival logo

Motovun Film Festival is entirely dedicated to films made in small studios and independent productions. It was organized in the late 1990s because there were so few non-Hollywood films distributed in Croatia. (For instance, on 10 August 1999, the opening day of the first Motovun Film Festival, not one non-Hollywood film was being shown in Croatian commercial cinemas). Motovun wants to be a small festival showing small films, which are large in quality and ambition. The festival program consists of around 70 titles from all over the world, including documentaries to feature films, short and feature-length films, from guerrilla-made films to co-productions. The only criteria in selection is that the films fit in the open-minded atmosphere of the festival.

In the years since the festival first started, it has become widely popular among Croatian youth, especially students. Every year during the festival, a camp for visitors is organized on the foothills of Motovun, where anybody can put up a tent almost for free (the daily fee of 5 kn (roughly 1 USD) is paid to the local tourist office). The visitors' camp has become one of the hallmarks of the festival. In January 2007 The Guardian described the festival as "a cross between Glastonbury and Sundance."[1]

The festival has increased in recognition. From once being considered a "backpacker's film festival," it was recognized by 2007, along with the Sarajevo Film Festival, as one of the most important film festivals held on the territory of the former Yugoslavia.[2]

Awards

The main award at the festival is called Propeler Motovuna (English: The Propeller of Motovun, inspired by the prominent wind turbines located near Motovun).

Other awards at the festival are the Motovun Online award for best short film, the odAdoA (From 'A' to 'A') award for best film in the regional competition (the name of the award is short for From Austria to Albania, roughly describing the region covered), and the film critics' FIPRESCI Award.

In 2008, the Motovun Maverick Award was introduced, given to notable filmmakers for lifetime achievement. Its first recipient was Ken Russell. In 2013, Mohsen Makhmalbaf and The Gardener were given the award.

Award winners

Propeller of Motovun

Year English title Original title in Croatian Director(s) Country
2000 Billy Elliot N/A Stephen Daldry  United Kingdom
2001 Last Resort N/A Paweł Pawlikowski  United Kingdom
2002 Bloody Sunday N/A Paul Greengrass  United Kingdom
2003 Punch-Drunk Love N/A Paul Thomas Anderson  United States
2004 Ae Fond Kiss... N/A Ken Loach  United Kingdom
2005 The Death of Mr. Lazarescu Moartea domnului Lăzărescu Cristi Puiu  Romania
2006 Look Both Ways N/A Sarah Watt  Australia
2007 Sweet Mud Adama Meshuga'at Dror Shaul  Israel
2008 Silent Light Stellet Lijcht Carlos Reygadas  Mexico
2009 Fish Tank N/A Andrea Arnold  United Kingdom
2010 October Octubre Daniel and Diego Vega Vidal  Peru
2011 Bullhead Rundskop Michaël R. Roskam  Belgium
2012 The Delay La Demora Rodrigo Plá  Uruguay
2013 The Plague La Plaga Neus Ballús  Spain
2014 The Tribe Plemya Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy  Ukraine

FIPRESCI Award

Year English title Original title Director(s) Country
2001 No Man's Land Ničija zemlja Danis Tanović  Bosnia and Herzegovina
2002 Grill Point Halbe Treppe Andreas Dresen  Germany
2003 Margarette's Feast A Festa de Margarette Renato Falcão  Brazil
2004 The Five Obstructions De fem benspænd Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth  Denmark
2005 Day and Night Dag och natt Simon Staho  Sweden
2006 We Feed the World N/A Erwin Wagenhofer  Austria
2007 Hallam Foe N/A David Mackenzie  United Kingdom
2008 Blind Loves Slepé lásky Juraj Lehotský  Slovakia
2009 Fish Tank N/A Andrea Arnold  United Kingdom
2010 The Four Times Le quattro volte Michelangelo Frammartino  Italy
2011 Martha N/A Marcelino Islas Hernández  Mexico
2012 Play N/A Ruben Östlund  Sweden
2013 The Daughter I Kori Thanos Anastopoulos  Greece
2014 Force Majeure Turist Ruben Östlund  Sweden

Notable guests

People who visited the festival include:

References

  1. ↑ Bryan, Tim (2007-01-06). "Diaries at the ready...". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  2. ↑ "Modest Ambitions and Big Successes". Fipresci.org. 2007-07-27. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Young, Deborah (2003-08-06). "Motovun moviegoers arrive in force". Variety. Retrieved 2008-03-08.

External links