Announced the winners of the XX edition of the RIFF – Rome Independent Film Festival directed by Fabrizio Ferrari, which saw 95 works in competition from Italy, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, USA, Canada, Burkina Faso, Lebanon. Documentary films and short films to represent contemporary independent cinema, among which: 21 world premieres, 9 European premieres and 45 Italian premieres and a full program of secondary events, meetings and masterclasses.
Competition sections were: Feature film, International documentary, National documentary, International short, Italian short, Animation short, Sudent short and the sections for screenplays and subjects. Whereas the jury called to judge the finalist works was composed of: Wieland Speck (Founder of the Teddy Award at the Berlinale), Bijaya Jena (Indian director and actress), Sahraa Karimi (Afghan director), Laura Buffoni (critic and producer), Anja Strelek (documentaries director and Coordinator of the Brussels International Film Festival), Gergely Pohárnok (photography director), Carl Haber (American director and writer) and Davide Mancini, actor.
The Little Saint by Silvia Brunelli is the best Italian Feature Film, which was this year’s pre-opening film. After a careful evaluation of the films in competition, thanking all the participants for the professionalism and artistic ability shown, the jury decided to praise “After a careful evaluation of the films in the competition, and thanking all the participants for their professionalism and artistic ability, the jury decided to praise a rather original and not very obvious film. In our opinion, “La Santa Piccola” is the kind of film that the public would like to see at an independent film festival, and it is also enhanced by the acting performances of the cast. We therefore declare the film “La Santa Piccola” the winner of the Italian long feature category”.
A special mention goes to “Fino ad essere felici” by Paolo Cipolletta. “The jury was particularly keen to give a special mention to the film: “Fino ad essere felici” because the feature film focuses on the theme of personal happiness as opposed to family commitments, thus creating a strong empathy with the viewer, but what prompted us to award the film a special mention is the way in which the theme of femininity is dealt with: respect, fear and fragility; hence our sincere congratulations for the sensitivity shown by the entire artistic cast”.
Best international feature film is “Remains of a Man” from Ana Johann (Brazil) “Remains of a man is an original portrait of two lonely women. Renata and her daughter live isolated in the countryside with an unloved husband and father, but when the man dies in an accident, their existence with no male protection is in danger. The arrival of a mysterious stranger awakens their desire for freedom. The always tense direction and the performance of the actresses give life to a tense and disturbing film about the unspoken, which proudly recounts the sensuality, mystery and ambiguity of man-woman relationships”.
Special mention to “Future is a lonely place” by Martin Hawie & Laura Harwarth (Germany). “The film has created the prison environment with its politics, ganglord rivalry with the monochromatic colour palette and good performances. These complex characters float in this environment with their amoral behaviour making it unpredictable and interesting”.
As happened last year, the Best Italian and International Documentary Awards were assigned by the public jury and go to “From my house in da house” by Giovanni La Gorga & Alessio Borgonuovo for Italians, and “El Fulgor” by Martín Farina (Argentina) for internationals.
The Best Italian Short Award goes to “I Santi” by Giacomo Abbruzzese (Italy / France). “Psychological family drama The Saints takes us on a journey of a raw life reality of a brother and a sister who despite very hard life conditions are there for each other. While combining religion, vengeance and death, the film seems like a modern Greek tragedy with amazing young actors and visuals that allow you to be immersed in the film and their universe from the first second”.
A special mention of the jury goes to “L’ultima consegna” by Alessio Ciancianaini. “We have chosen this film for the special mention award because of its incredible twist. Director leads you in completely different emotional direction within first few minutes to then focus on something different that wasn’t evident from the tone of the film and storytelling at the beginning”.
The Best International Short Award goes to “Interfon15” by Andrei Epure (Rumania). “It is a poignant film about loneliness and urban isolation in a modern society where people are more involved in their personal ambitions and materialistic gains rather than their loved ones and neighbours who are equally important for a social animal like man. But still it’s heartening to see that there is compassion among the few of us in our community to thrive”.
The Rai Cinema Channel Award, worth €3,000, which consists of a contract for the purchase of the short film’s web and free TV right by Rai Cinema Channel and will enjoy visibility on www.raicinemachannel.it, on its partner sites and, at the discretion of the managers of the networks, on RAI channels, goes to “Flowers” by Kristian Xipolias.
Best Animated Short is “Stone Heart” by Humberto Rodrigues (Brazil). “Incredible 3D animation combined with a powerful sound design, beautiful colors and emotional and human component of the film, makes this film a true short jewel that should be watched equally within very young to older audience because it reminds us of values, greed, selfishness and life in general and what we make of it”.
Ex aequo winners of the Best Short for Film Schools are “Reina” by Ozan Mermer (Mexico / Germany) and “Neon Phantom” by Leonardo Martinelli (Brazil). ““Reina”, the story of a girl about to celebrate her fifteenth birthday who is used by her beloved uncle in an attempt to please a local cartel boss, is an engaging and ultimately moving film, demonstrating maturity and enormous empathy in its direction and screenplay, boasting elegant and essential cinematography that heightens the emotional content, impressive production and costume design, excellent use of music and really extraordinary acting.
“Neon Phantom” is entirely original: a story of bicycle messengers in Brazil during the Covid- 19 pandemic, it follows their dreams, struggles and exploitation, all surprisingly through the brilliant use of song and dance. The musical blend of joy and anger, sadness and celebration makes it a memorable film, a significant production, involving many talented young men and women, striking music and choreography, and an important theme that resonates.
These two films both deserve the honor of this RIFF award this year and so we are proud to declare them co-winners for Best Student Film in this 20th edition of RIFF”.
The Best Screenplay Award for a Feature Film goes to “Totti’s ball” by Giacomo Tramontano
Among the new awards of this 20th edition: the SIAE Award for the best screenplay for short film. The Italian Society of Authors and Publishers is making available a scholarship of €2,500.00 for the development of the winning project, which this year is “ ‘O Marenaro” by Simone Costa.
The Best Subject Award for a Feature Film goes to “The last song” by Gino Clemente .
The RIFF – Rome Independent Film Festival, is organized with the contribution and patronage of the Directorate General Cinema – Ministry of heritage and Culturl Activities and the Lazio Region. The project, promoted by Roma Culture, won the Public Notice Contemporaneamente Roma 2020 – 2021 -2022, curated by the Department of Cultural Activities and realized in collaboration with SIAE.
