13th ZagrebDox Winners Announced

International Competition

INTERNATIONAL JURY
Snježana Tribuson
György Báron
Fabrizio Grosoli

BIG STAMP
For Best Film in International Competition

THE DAZZLING LIGHT OF SUNSET
Salomé Jashi (Georgia / Germany)

The Dazzling Light of Sunset paints an atmospheric and subtly humorous image of daily life in a small town in Georgia. Local events – such as weddings, shows, election discussions, captured owls, church rituals – seem like a good topic for the local TV crew whose cover stories are also in the focus of this film. All this is accompanied by a visually subtle observational detachment which shows this whole mixture of outdated tradition and new customs in both an absurd and poetically gentle light, which makes this film an extremely valuable piece.

SPECIAL MENTIONS

21 x NEW YORK
Piotr Stasik (Poland)

21 x New York is an impressive film about a city and its inhabitants. With a selection of portrayed people whose life stories we learn in brief sketches and the dominant environment of the NYC subway, filmed with poetic elusiveness, the author builds an uneasy atmosphere which dominates the film. The entire image is contributed by the atmospheric shots of trains passing, people waiting at platforms, portraits of random passengers and elusive editing and soundtrack. The picture of New York painted by the author is depressing and uneasy, a story about people lost in the corridors of a megalopolis.

COMMUNION
Anna Zamecka (Poland / Hungary)

By choosing simple scenes from the everyday life of a 14-year-old girl fighting for the survival of her dysfunctional family, the director creates a complex puzzle portraying family relationships, each member, the crisis, as well as the dynamism of mutual caring. The director makes us particularly relate to the protagonist, a child growing up, dependent on the parents, playful, but forced to run the daily activities of her family with a responsibility of an adult, and invest effort in the education and care for her interesting but handicapped brother.

Regionalna konkurencija

REGIONAL JURY
Martijn te Pas
Marion Döring
Ademir Kenović

BIG STAMP
For Best Film in Regional Competition

DEPTH TWO
Ognjen Glavonić (Serbia / France)

The Big Stamp Award for Best Film in the Regional Competition Program goes to an extremely well researched and thoroughly immersive film that employs impeccable visual framing, an inescapable sound track and an effective narrative structure. At the same time it tells a horrific, yet completely unknown story that needs to be known - and should resonate with audiences around the world. At first the films seems to tell two different stories that ultimately merge into one, using chilling testimonies of victims and people who were guilty of a huge cover up. Director Ognjen Glavonic proves again great directoral vision with his impressive film Depth Two.

SPECIAL MENTIONS

#theircatsaswell
Lisbeth Kovacic (Austria)

A Special Mention goes to a quirky short film that uses a fairly new medium to tell a very contemporary story in a fresh and surprising way. The rough edged animations correspond perfectly with the tough plight of two Syrian refugees who not only deal with themselves but also with their beloved cat. Congratulations to Lisbeth Kovacic for #theircatsaswell.

VILLAGE PEOPLE
Tzvetan Dragnev (Bulgaria)

A Special Mention goes out to a very bold and poetic debut film that is not only visually arresting but deeply human. Its many protagonists – living tough lives in the poorest region of Bulgaria - are portrayed in an extremely dignified and sensitive manner.  Director and editor Tzvetan Dragnev and DoP Plamen Gelinov have made a dreamlike essay that shine a new and fresh light on the subject – or even subgenre - of deserted villages. Kudos to the director of Village People for letting us experience true cinema.

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YOUNG JURY
Bert Beyens
Mirna Zgrabljić
Matjaž Ivanišin

LITTLE STAMP
For Best Film of a Young Author up to 35 Years of Age

DEPTH TWO
Ognjen Glavonić (Serbia / France)

In its minimalistic approach, Depth Two becomes a modest masterpiece on absence. Only voices bring to life bodies and faces that the viewer never actually sees on screen. This film tells that there is no escape from crime or violence against humanity. The beautiful climax shows how truth comes to the surface from water and soil.

SPECIAL MENTIONS
To an author up to 35 years of age

CLOSE TIES
Zofia Kowalewska (Poland)

A perfect short observational documentary about the aftermath of a marital crisis, Close Ties documents a sublime moment of reconciliation without any sentimentality.

HOLY GOD
Vladlena Sandu (Russia)

With precision, the filmmaker puts herself on screen in a short film that gradually turns into a beautiful musical poem about three generations of women, unveiling all challenges of life and death.

Movies That Matter

MOVIES THAT MATTER JURY
Iris Zaki
Jadranka Brnčić
Kumjana Novakova

MOVIES THAT MATTER AWARD
For film that promotes human rights in a best way

HOLY GOD
Vladlena Sandu (Russia)

The author's self-portrait. With courageous honesty she talks about the physical and emotional trauma through which she, together with her mother and grandmother, went through as a refugee and recalls everyday life facing with post-traumatic stress. A particular value of the film is its minimalism: facial expressions tell more than words, just like pauses, silence, confusion, restlessness. And here lied the aesthetic energy of the entire film: the power is in the simple and the nameless. The author offers an intimate diary, subtly and at the same time radically she reveals herself in front of camera and viewers just cannot help not to be emotionally involved. The film is masterfully structured and thus raised to the universal level of social importance. Certainly a jewel in women's cinema.

Teen Dox

TEEN DOX JURY
Pupils of 13th Gymnasium in Zagreb

TEEN DOX AWARD
For best film about issues concerning the young

STARLESS DREAMS
Merhdad Oskouei (Iran)

We loved Starless Dreams by Mehrdad Oskouei because its subject matter, idea, narrative and moral deeply touched us and opened our eyes, giving us an insight into the difficult situations that befell these Iranian girls. We believe that every art, including film, should inspire in us a certain emotion and motivate us to think about ourselves, our position in society and our views on others. With this film, the director gave a voice to the girls which would not be nearly as powerful if it were not remarkably artistically executes on all levels.

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MY GENERATION AWARD
Awarded by the founder and director of ZagrebDox, Nenad Puhovski, for the film by the author of his generation.

DÉJÀ VU
Jon Bang Carlsen (Denmark)

This year I give the My Generation Award to Danish director Jon Bang Carlsen for Déjà vu, a film in which he not only questions his own life and its demons with artistic prowess and courage, but also continues the lifelong creative exploration of the very nature of documentarism.