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FEATURE LENGTH FILM AWARDS
The feature film jury: Jim Quilty, Richard
Kwietniowski, Stergios Niziris,
Awarded their First
Award to
“Pachamama”,
by Toshifumi Matsushita (Japan-Bolivia)because:
Though the film’s director was not native
Bolivian, it was a movie that rose above the
limits of anthropology and documentary to tell a
story about human and environmental matters in a
context of change.
“Pachamama” is an immensely well-made,
imaginative and visual film with a very big
heart.
The director was in New York and could not
attend the ceremony, but Lucia Rikaki had a
telephone conversation with him where he
expressed his emotion and his joy for the prize
and promised to join Rodos as soon as possible.
The Second
Award
was awarded to the movie:
King Corn,
by Aaron Wolf (USA).
The jury agreed that it was very important to
have a film in which the filmmakers turn their
camera on their own country.
“King Corn” is especially significant because
the film-makers turn their very critical eye on
America, the centre of the international
economy. The film succeeds in developing a
complex analysis on screen, a problem that is
profoundly disturbing, yet delivered with a
great sense of humor. A Hollywood-esque buddy
movie about the world coming down with diabetes.
Special Jury prize
was awarded to the movie
El Sistema,
by
Paul Smaczny
& Maria Stodtmeierby
(Germany)
An extraordinaire subject with far reaching
implications that very few people know about.
It’s an incredibly well made film in which it
demonstrates the movement of the underprivileged
children in the centre of the film as well as
the bourgeois musicians who devised it.
The director, who also received by the Staff
Award of the feature film competition has left
Rodos after the screening of its film. In its
message he said that he felt extremely flattered
adding that:"I take this as a recognition for
what El Sistema has achieved in Venezuela.
As a recognition for José Antonio Abreu's
visionary work, his humanistic approach to art
and to the social problems in Venzuelian
society. Thank you very much".
MEDIUM LENGTH FILM AWARDS
The medium film jury consisted of Aneta
Lesnikovska, Irena Taskovski and Yiannis
Mylopoulos.
The jury made comments on the vast variety of
this year’s films and underlined that:
"One can reach the conclusion that Cinema on
ecology looks like the object it cures. Its
characteristics include a wide variety
equivalent to the biodiversity that exists in
Nature. And as long as biodiversity is
threatened, this Cinema blooms, like an effort
of mankind to restore, through Art, the damage
that other sectors of human activities cause.
But that’s always the way Art is.
When not copying Life, Art opens new paths and
saves our souls…"
The jury gave the First
Award to the movie:
“The
golden beach”
by Hasse Wester
Because it records the dramatic changes of the
magical and exotic beach in India due to the
development of tourism, through the personal
view of the director-traveller.
He also describes the changes of the inhabitants
due to the sudden invasion of money into their
lives.
The director Hasse Wester while receiving the
award said
I have spend 20 years of my life visiting this
beach, noticing the changes of the people living
there as their economical conditions where
constantly changing.
This has not happened solely in that beach.
Virgin coasts lose their characteristics every
day Thus, I tried to demonstrate the way of
thinking of the people who live in that beach.
The Second Award
went to the movie:
“The
beetle”
by Yishai Orian (Israel)
The director not only looked for and managed to
locate the car’s previous owners, who narrated
their personal stories of their relationship
with the car, but he also recorded his trip to
neighboring Jordan which he took in order to
repair the car for an affordable price.
As the director shows us in the end, his son-
who was born when the director was in Jordan –
grows up with the car as well.
Karina Rubinstein received the award on behalf
of the director and wished for peace.
The Special Mention
went to the movie
“The
Deadline”
by Phil Stebbing (UK)
The title of the film reminds us the fact that
natural wealth is limited on the earth.
A film that showed in a wonderful way, the problem of the
catastrophe of the Oceans through overfishing
and illegal fishing in the Atlantic and the huge
issue of the quality and the source of our
nutrition.
The film did not limit itself to the
presentation of the problem, but it extended and
proposed activism as the effective solution for
dealing with it.
The award was received by Thanasis Anapolitanos,
President of the Mediterranean Antinuclear watch
representing . Nikos Charalabides, General
Director of the Greek Bureau of GREENPEACE who
commented on the award:
"The fact that specialists – as you – consider
that the story of the film contains something
special, gives us the courage to go on.
Sometimes I have the impression that there’s a
conspiracy of those who engage in battles that
some others consider already as defeated. That
is why I personally believe that the roads of
Greenpeace and those of the Ecofilms Festival
get intertwine. I am sure that we will meet
again in the future. Don’t give up! Be
courageous and we cordially thank the organizers
and the jury committee once more".
The director Phil Stebbing thanked the jury and
said:
"Hopefully the Deadline film will alert people
to the blatant destruction of the world's fish
stocks and put pressure on governments
everywhere to put down their napkins, clear away
the fish bones from their plates and start to
create a lifeline for the world's oceans by
eradicating piracy once and for all from the
world's fishing fleets".
SHORT LENGTH FILM AWARDS
Elena Giuffrida, Christos Georgiou and Evanthia
Tsantila the short films jury
Awarded the First Award
to the movie
“Raw”
by Annoeleck Sollart (Holland)
For highlighting with sensitivity the world of a
very special child and for encouraging through
the film the discussion on important social
issues.
Annoeleck Sollart while receiving the award said
I feel extremely happy that I am awarded for
this film especially as this is a documentary
for children and I wish to defend this genre
which is now threatened by limited funding
The Second Award
went to the film
“The
Big Ask”
by Nic Balthazar (Belgium)
For communicating with strength the impeding
environmental disaster and encouraging the world
to take a stance.
The award was received on behalf of the director
Nic Balthazar by the Dodecanese Consul for
Belgium Mr.A.Kabourakis who conveyed the
directors gratitude and congratulated the
festival organizers
THE EFFN GREEN
AWARD
The ECOFILMS FESTIVAL 2009 gave the GREEN AWARD,
the green OSCAR, that is awarded by the
Environmental Film Festival Network to a movie
that was screened in Network’s Festivals last
year.
This year the awarded movie was
“Encounters at the end
of the world” by Werner Herzog.
The movie had participated last year in the
Ecofilms 2008 Festival and received the First
Prize of the feature film competition.
The award was given to the President of the
Environmental Film Festival Network (EFFN),
Gaetano Cappizzi, by the greek deputy Spiros
Kouvelis, who noticed the importance of the
Ecological Festivals.
“In crucial moments for the future of the
environment it is important that artists
contribute to the development of ecological
thought and force governments to act, putting a
limit in the environmental disasters and slowing
down lawlessness. I attend the Ecofilms Festival
for many years and I think that is a dynamic
contribution to the cinema and to the ecological
thought as well".
THE AUDIENCE AWARDS
The Cinema Club of Rhodos awarded equally two
movies:
“Trading
the Future”
by b.h.
Yael
(Canada)
and
“Pachamama”
by Toshifumi Matsusita
(Japan)
The Cinema Club of Rhodos awarded equally two
movies
and on
behalf of the Club Mr. Giannis Hajicostas and
Mr. Costas Calligas said:
"We award the movie “Trading the Future” because
it demonstrates the difference between two
possible worlds. On the one hand, revelational
religious theories bound towards the end of the
world, that encourage fatality and passivity,
and on the other hand the conviction that no
battles are beaten for the planet nor for the
people, as long as we realize the situation,
have faith and keep on struggling to change the
world.
We also award the movie “Pachamama” for the
way it deals with relationships among the
members of a remote society and the values that
regulate these relationships. It is a film
visually perfect with a clear environmental
message."
THE ECOFILMS TEAM AWARDS
A new award was established this year. The award
of the team working for the festival
The Short Film
competition award went to the movie
“The power of light”
by the Anthony Utkin (Russia)
The Medium Length
competition award went to the movie:
“Addicted to plastic”
by Ian Connacher (Canada)
The Feature Film
competition award went to the movie:
“El Sistema”
by Paul Smaczny and Maria
Stodtmeier (Germany)
Antigoni Mixafenti presented the awards and the
vice-prefect of the Dodekanese Adrianna Bafiti
gave the awards on behalf of the festival’s
staff.
Paul Smaczny send the following message.
“Thank you very much for this wonderful award! I
feel extremely honored and would like to thank the entire, wonderful team of Ecofilms for this most
appreciated recognition. I'm very sorry not
being with you tonight celebrating the closing
ceremony but hope to see you all again in 2010
when you will be celebrating the 10th
anniversary!"
Ian Connacher received the award itself. In his
thank you speech he mentioned that the struggle
for the decrease in the use of plastic as well
as of all contagious elements, should be
constant. He said that he loved the festival and
discovering Rodos but he also underlined the
fact that he observed here too the extensive use
of plastic.
Antony Utkin when receiving the award he said
was really surprised as this was his first ever
festival , he thanked the team and said that he
would like return to the Rodos with another
movie.
THE GREEK FILM COMPETITION AWARDS
Afroditi Athanasopoulou, Evanthia Tsantila
and Christos Georgiou, were the members
of the jury of the greek film competition
The First Award sponsored by the Greek
Film Center was awarded to the fiction film
“Instructions” by
Costas Yiallourides because it expresses
with a simple and successful dramaturgy the
desires and the fears of a love affaire.
The director received the award by the
vice-mayor Mr. Taraslias and the vice- president
of Greek Film Center Mr D.Sofianopoulos,
The Second Award
went to the film:
“SOS, animals in danger”
by Aggelos Kovotsos because it achieves
to communicate its theme in a manner which is
attractive to children and it also conveys
important educational information which is of a
great interest to all of us.
The writer of the film, Vaso Kanellopoulou,
received the award and said that "the
documentary is the participation of ERT in an
EBU documentary series which contributes to the
environmental awareness of young children.
The script writer also referred to the
contribution of the 8-year-old student, the
little reporter, who worked for the film.
She loved the wildlife and realized that after
all we are nothing different from the rest
ecosystem".
The special mention
was given to the film:
“Bells, threads and miracles”
by Marianna Economou,
because it focuses on a very special case,
addressing religious and cultural matters. The
award was received by the writer of the film,
Niki Tsiligiroglou, on behalf of the director.
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