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| Ilyas Salman as the farmer in Karlovy Vary’s top award winner Corn Island. |
The film is a true example of European co-production, involving the resources and talents of Georgia, Germany, France, Czech Republic, and Kazakhstan. The director uses captivating imagery and visuals to present a highly topical subject – the intense relationship between man and nature.
Stunningly set on the border between Georgia and the breakaway republic of Abhazia which is on a renowned geological fault-line, Ovashvili centres on a peasant farmer (Ilyas Salman) and his teenage daughter (Mariam Buturishvili) who build a shelter on an island which has sprung up after flooding.
The film which also received $25,000 (£14,600) in prize money, was produced by Nino Devdariani for Alamdary Film. Hungarian director Gyorgy Palfi’s Free Fall, a Hungarian, French and South Korean co-production, took the Special Jury Prize, which comes with $15,000 of prize money. Director Palfi also won the best director award.
Elle Fanning as the adolescent daughter of a problematic jazz musician took the best actress award for her role in Jeff Preiss’ Low Down, and Nahuel Perez Biscayart's portrayal of an Argentinian rent boy in David Lambert’s All Yours, from Belgium and Canada, won him the best actor gong.
The East of the West Award, which comes with a $20,000 (£11,600) tag, went to Ivan I Tverdovsky’s Corrections Class. A special mention in this section was bestowed on Ivan Ikic’s Barbarians, a co-production from Serbia, Montenegro and Slovenia.
The award for a documentary over 60 minutes was won by Teodora Ana Mihai’s Waiting For August, from Belgium, while the special mention went to Lisa Weber’s Steadiness, from Austria. The award for a documentary under 30 minutes — and $5000 bonus — went to Boris Poljak’s Autofocus, from Croatia, and the special mention went to Manuel Abramovich’s The Queen, from Argentina. Ester Amrami’s Anywhere Else (Germany) nabbed the Forum of Independents award with 5000 euros attached.
The Audience Award found its way by popular acclaim to Olga Sommerova’s The Magic Voice Of A Rebel from the Czech Republic.
The award from The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) was won by the animated feature Rocks In My Pockets, directed by Signe Baumane, a Latvian filmmaker who lives in New York.
