‘Kix,’ ‘Frem’ Win Docu Talent Awards at Sarajevo Film Festival
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Hungary’s “Kix” and Czech Republic’s “Frem” won the Docu Talent Awards, chosen from a field of 10 documentary features from Central and Eastern Europe, at the Sarajevo Film Festival on Sunday.
“Kix,” directed by David Mikulan and Balint Revesz, is the story of Sanyi, a troubled youth, as he grows from eight to 18, morphing from young mischief-maker to public enemy.
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Viera Cakanyova’s “Frem,” a visual essay about the rise of artificial intelligence and the growing redundancy of human thought, is described as “an audiovisual requiem for homo sapiens.”
The jury was composed of Cinema du Reel director Catherine Bizern, Israeli producer Noemi Schory, Sundance Film Festival programmer Harry Vaugh, Natalia Arshavskaya from Current Time TV, and Jarmila Outratova, representing the organizer of the section, Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival.
In a statement the jury said: “We were very impressed by this eclectic lineup of projects and decided to accord not one but two awards to projects of very different style but equal in their respective filmmaking passion. The $3,000 award goes to an ethically challenging portrait of restless rage in a child, ‘Kix.’ The $2,000 award goes to a project of great ambition and originality that tackles philosophical issues, ‘Frem.’”
Marek Hovorka, director of Ji.hlava and curator of Docu Talents, said: “We have been following the region of Central and Eastern Europe through Docu Talents for 15 years, thus promoting the cinematography which is often omitted by others. And every year the selection confirms to us that there are many new authors to discover.”
During the awards ceremony, Ji.hlava’s reps also revealed the participants of the festival’s 18 Emerging Producers 2020 program (see link here). The promotional, networking and educational program for up-and-coming European documentary film producers will include two sessions – at Ji.hlava in October and in February during Berlinale. The guest country will be Taiwan, represented by Yin-Yu Huang.
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