Film Scouts Diaries

2001 Karlovy Vary Film Festival Diaries
TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN: THE 36th KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - DAY 10

by Henri Béhar

Saturday, July 14 - And so it's over. Gearing for the Awards ceremony, the closing night movie (Bridget Jones's Diary) and the closing night party. While packing, one tries to make sense of the last ten days. Fifteen out of the seventeen films in competition were world-premieres or international premieres. The theatres were constantly packed and barring the building of new venues, one doesn't know how the Karlovy Vary festival could expand to accommodate an ever increasing attendance, in terms of both audiences and professionals.

Film-wise, the war was present throughout the selection (all sections), as were generational conflicts and various portraits of troubled teenagedom. As was digital cinematography (the Dogme effect), which jury president Krzysztof Zanussi finds ''astonishingly unattractive… so far'', he hastens to add, ''[which] means that the specificity of this technique has not yet been discovered."

As far as the awards are concerned, juries, critics and audiences seemed to be in total agreement - which is quite a feat. Here are the main awards:

FULL-LENGTH FEATURE FILM COMPETITION
(The jury included directors Krzysztof Zanussi, Poland, and Jafar Panahi, Iran, Jan Hrebejk, Czech Republic, and French actress Marie-José Nat)

Grand Prize - Crystal Globe : Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain ("Amélie of Montmarte"), by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, France

Special Jury Prize : Hi, Tereska, by Robert Glinski, Poland

Best Director : Ibolya Fekete for Chico, Hungary-Germany-Croatia-Chile

Best Actress: Viveka Seldahl, A Song for Martin, by Bille August, Denmark-Sweden

Best Actor: Sven Wollter, A Song for Martin.

Special Jury Mentions: Unfinished Song, by Maziar Miri, Iran; Violet Perfume, by Maryse Sistach, Mexico

Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema: actor Ben Kingsley, Great Braitain, director Otaka Vavra, Czech Republic

DOCUMENTARY FILM COMPETITION:
(Jury presided by Erika Gregor, Germany)

Best Documentary (longer than 30 minutes): Vies ("Lives"), by Alain Cavalier, France
Best Documentary (less than 30 minutes): Pho ("Noodle Soup"), by Uyen Luu, Vietnam

FIPRESCI International Film Critics Award: Hi, Tereska

FICC Federation of Film Society "Don Quijote Prize": Hi, Tereska.

For a complete and detailed Awards list, log on to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Web Site: www.iffkv.cz

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