The Interakcija/Interaction short documentary film festival has concluded today with the ceremonial awarding of various festival and industry awards. During the seven days of the festival, 15 films were shown in the competition program in the Serbian town of in Požega, along with works presented in accompanying programs.
The award for the best film went to Daria’s Night Flowers by Iranian director Maryam Tafakori. The decision was made by an international jury consisting of Ivan Marković, Jola Vječorek and Teo Panagopoulos, who assessed the film as a deeply poetic, personal and political achievement. Through archival footage and film collage, Daria’s Night Flowers deals with the position of women, patriarchy, resistance and Iranian society. Along with the statue, the work of the sculptor Marko Crnobrnja, the award includes a monetary amount provided by the festival’s partner Sirogojno Company. The film also received the Audience Award.
Award for the best film – work of sculptor Marko Crnobrnja / photo/ Matija Štifanić
The special recognition of the international jury went to the film Under Which Rivers Flow, directed by Ali Yahya from Iraq. The jury explanation highlights the transition from an intimate and observational documentary approach to an almost science-fiction picture of a world faced with an environmental crisis.
Photo/ Aleksandra Žunić
The Youth Jury Prize was awarded to the French film If You Don’t Like It, Look Away, directed by Margot Fournier. The winner was decided by 15 participants of the Teen Doc workshop from Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Their attention was especially attracted by the film’s sincere attitude towards the themes of the body and aging, as well as the motifs of freedom and youthful spirit, along with the warmth and spontaneity of the female protagonists.
This year’s edition of the festival also brought the first edition of the Interaction: DocuConnect Balkans program, within which two awards were given to projects in development. The expert jury, consisting of Iris Elezi, Rada Šešić and Wouter Jansen, awarded the Square Eyes Consulting Award to the project Hole, directed by Danilo Stanimirović and producer Nikola Spasić from the production company Incubator Rezon from Serbia.
Photo /Matija Štifanić
Rada Šešić’s consulting award went to the project Silence of the Classroom, directed by Isidora Bulatović, produced by Jasmina Karajlović and Jelena Šarić from the production company Bridge&Beyond from Montenegro.
The final evening of the festival was also an opportunity to present the films created during this year’s Interakcija Student Film Camp and the Teen Doc workshop.
Photo/ Matija Štifanić
The Interakcija/Interaction Festival was organized by the Filmart Independent Film Center, with the support of the European Fund for the Balkans, the Fund for the Western Balkans, the Government of Switzerland within the “Culture for Democracy” program, which is implemented by the Hartefakt Fund, as well as Film Center Serbia, the Austrian Cultural Forum, Media Desk – Creative Europe Serbia, the Municipality of Požega and numerous other partners.
Cover photo/ Aleksandra Žunić