Winners of the 55th Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival Announced

The Special Mention went to Flesh & Fuel by Pierre le Gall (France, Poland). Matthijs Wouter Knol, Director General of the European Film Academy, presented the award.

The jury named Diego by Mélissa Silvera (France) the Best Short Film in the International Competition. Jury member and director Anita Uzulniece announced the winner. The film received the Scythian Deer and a $2,000 prize from the festival.

Director Mélissa Silvera addressed the audience in a video message:

“My film came from a need, the need to have a conversation with my father that never happened. So instead of having that conversation, I made this film. The fact that it is now traveling to festivals and moving people means a lot to me.”

The jury gave a Special Mention to Silence by Pavlo Shpegun (Ukraine).

“I once acted in Oleg Sentsov’s ‘Rhino,’ and now I’m standing next to him on this stage. I dream of showing my film in Mariupol, where I’m from. This film is about all of us, about people living through the horrors of war in our cities and on the front lines. You might have coffee or a cigarette with someone and not know whether they’ll be sent to the front the next day, or whether they’ll come back,” Shpegun said.

The Best Student Film award in the International Competition went to Reminiscence by Iryna Melnychenko (Switzerland). Jury member Mahnāz Mohammadī announced the winner. Melnychenko received the Scythian Deer and a $2,000 prize from the festival.

The Special Mention went to The Bright Hours by Chia-Chen Yeh (Taiwan).

International Competition Jury

• Oleh Sentsov, director and Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemember, chair of the jury (Ukraine);
• Matthijs Wouter Knol, Director General of the European Film Academy (the Netherlands);
• Mahnāz Mohammadī, documentary and fiction film director (Iran);
• Eugene Lavrenchuk, theater director, educator, and cultural manager (Ukraine);
• Anita Uzulniece, film scholar, Doctor of Arts, film critic, and associate professor at RISEBA University (Latvia).

The Audience Award and the Scythian Deer went to Trial of Hein by Kai Stänicke (Germany, Switzerland).

The Documentary Competition award went to War Has No Children, the debut film by Dmytro Todoriuk (Ukraine). It received the Scythian Deer and a $2,000 prize. Jury member Svitlana Zinovieva announced the winner:

“We had an honour and pleasure to watch 9 debut documentaries among which some were dealing with an end; however we decided to reward a film that speaks of a whole new beginning. The main prize of 55th Molodist documentary competition goes to a film that by its very title affirms that evil will not engender its own posterity for there are those who move forward despite all, who give hope that we can eradicate despair through a sincere and innocent childlike persuasion that light and joy cannot be taken away from those who are light and joy themselves.”

The jury gave a Special Mention to Watch You Rise by Isabella Grace Cohn (United States).

“Special mention of the jury goes to a film that went a step ahead in its graceful effort to represent survivors of sexual assault without their objectification. It gives a voice to very young people who operate a completely new set of words confronting reality that was previously outlined by someone else’s long outdated vocabularies. We want to celebrate the director Isabella Grace Cohn for her film Watch You Rise and for its dignified articulations who lead to healing and renewing,” the jury said.

Documentary Competition Jury

• Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, film director and screenwriter (Ukraine);
• Natalia Ilchuk, director and artist (Ukraine);
• Svitlana Zinovieva, cinematographer, producer, and screenwriter (Ukraine).

The Teen Screen award and a $2,000 prize from the festival went to Gugu’s World by Allan Deberton (Brazil).

“This film portrays the challenges of growing up and the relationships between parents and children. We were especially impressed by the lead actors. They conveyed their characters’ emotions so convincingly that we felt them ourselves. We could also see how much the characters grow over the course of the film,” the jury said.

The jury’s Special Mention for Best Actress went to Lisa Vanhemelrijck for her performance in Everyone’s Sorry Nowadays, directed by Frederike Migom (Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands).

“Behind every role is an actress who gives her character a soul, personality, emotions, and a part of herself. We would like to recognize Lisa Vanhemelrijck for her performance in ‘Everyone’s Sorry Nowadays.’”

Belgium’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Luc Jacobs, will pass the diploma to the actress.

Another Special Mention, for visual artistry, went to cinematographer Ángel Jara Taboada for his work on The Newcomers (Mexico, Spain).

“We looked at the lighting, the framing, and how the camera conveys emotion. One film made us see more than just an image, and that is why we want to recognize the cinematography in ‘The Newcomers.’”

Mexico’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Audencio Contreras González, accepted the award and will pass it to the winner.

The Teen Screen jury consisted of graduates of Valeriia Khodos’s film school:

• Viktoriia Shynderuk;
• Anna Hryhorenko;
• Yaroslav Hurenko;
• Nikita Koriahin.

In the National Competition, the Scythian Deer and UAH 100,000 from film and television platform Kyivstar TV went to Homecoming, directed by Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk.

“We were moved by the film’s tone, at once playful and tender, bringing warmth and lightness to a longing so many share,” the jury said.

Maryna Kaplun, Kyivstar TV’s Head of Content, presented the prize certificate, while Yevhen Nyshchuk, head of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize Committee, presented the statuette.

“Kyivstar TV has always supported Ukrainian cinema, especially films that find a contemporary form for human stories and speak about our experiences in a way people around the world can understand. We are grateful to recognize this story of loss and connection to home, and of the fierce desire to hold on to that connection by any means, even through technology,” Maryna Kaplun added.