Goran Paskaljevic 's Optimists sweeps Geneva prizes

PASKALJEVIC SWEEPS GENEVA PRIZES
by Alex Deleon, for www.filmfestivals.com

The CINEMA TOUT ECRAN festival which concluded its one week run on November 5 distributed its major prizes as follows:
The Cinema Tout Ecran Reflet d’Or (Golden Reflection) cash award
for the Best (theatrical) Film, (10,000 CHF) offered by the City of
Geneva, went (incomprehensibly) to the Dutch film "DIEP"(Deep) directed by
Simone van Dusseldorp (The Netherlands).
The jury's remark; A film "Which relates with conviction the turmoil and distress of an adolescent’s transition into adulthood.” While this is a more or less accurate description of the content of the film, what is glossed over is the fact that the way in which the story is told is deeply banal, the heroine unusually lethargic, the situations tacky, and the technique of the film – with ponderous overuse of extreme closeups on a single eye or a nose -- is painfully striving to be "innovative and cool".
The young lady who plays the central figure, Heleen (Melody Klaver), does have a certain appeal and is physically attractive enough -- but just barely enough, for all the boys in the neighborhood to be going ape over her. The climactic scene, where she surrenders her virginity as promised on New Years Eve to one of the local lotharios, is pathetically disappointing, as the chap is apparently able to make it with her without ever taking his undershorts off -- What is this, a new type of contraceptive? Well, it is a well-known fact that festival juries are often totally out of touch with audience tastes while considering their perceptions to be of a higher order. A "best film" decision such as this is proof positive that, in most cases, there is nothing “higher” about the higher order in question, and that film prizes at festivals are not a reliable guideline as to the actual qualities and/or box-office potential of films in contention, but are far more a kind of game that is played to give the festival itself some kind of cachet.

The CINEMA TOUT ECRAN Reflet d’Or for the Best Production offered by the
State of Geneva is awarded to “Optimisti” (The Optimists) by Goran Paskaljevic (Serbia) -- “For its strong directing and the superb direction
of its actors. This is a look at the tragic post-war reality in the Balkans
guided with the weapons of the absurd and derision.” What the difference
between “best film” and “best production” is, is at best, a slippery question of semantics and on a practical level, a way of making room for
more prizes. On the quality level Goran’s film is so far head-and-shoulders above the exremely shallow Dutch “Deep” that it is something of
a travesty to speak of them in the same breath. The “Optimists” film is a
five part compendium of somewhat related stories in which a mass hypnotist
appears and cures people on the spot of their ills and anxieties. Eventually the “curer” is arrested for falsely raising peoples hopes, but
overall, Paskaljevic’s film offers many insights into the mentality and
condition of poor people in post Milesovic Serbia. A droll and interesing
film which received two other awards.

SPECIAL MENTION OF THE JURY -- This year, a Special Mention is awarded to:
”Ein ganz gewöhnlicher Jude” (Just an Ordinary Jew) by Oliver Hirschbiegel
(Germany)“For a literary text of great intensity that expresses the thoughts and contradictions of a journalist on his Jewish identity in Today’s Germany.” This is an acting tour-de-force by German actor Ben Becker, described in detail in my earlier report.

THE TITRA-FILM AWARD FOR ENCOURAGEMENT TO CINEMA DISTRIBUTION
The Award for encouragement to cinema distribution offered by Titra-Film SA
is awarded to ”Goodbye, Life” by Ensieh Shah-Hosseini (Iran) -- “Because of
its striking way of describing the atrocities of war and the condition of
women in Iran”. This was the third festival this year at which Ensieh’s film has been recognized and she has become a familiar figure in traditional Islamic garb on the European festival scene. Nice lady into the bargain. The Titra award is apparently designed to stimulate the distribution of films from under represented countries such as Iran in Europe.

THE TUDOR AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS
The Tudor Award for Best Performance by an Actress is awarded to
Melody Klaver in “Diep” (Deep) by Simone van Dusseldorp (The Netherlands). “She dazzled us with her natural and sincere interpretation and her
instinctive acting ability.” In this writer’s view this was more of a
stiff-upper-lip award – for the perseverance to hang in doggedly in a shaggy dog of a pointless picture. The young actress does, however, seem to have a sufficiently strong screen presence on which to base the promise
of a budding screen career.

THE TUDOR AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR
The Tudor Award for Best Performance by an Actor is awarded to Piotr Glowacki in “Oda do Radosci” (Ode to Joy) by Anna Kazejak-Dawid, Jan Komasa, and Maciej Migas (Poland). “This actor touched us by his emotional, energetic and totally uncompromising performance”. This was a three part film made by students of the Lodz film school adressing themselves to the question of youthful despair in contemporary Poland and three young people who leave the country in search of economic hope, but eventually return. “Ode to joy”, which might more accurately have been entitled “Ode to Despair”, is indeed an uncompromising view of today’s Polish Reality, and all three main performances were equally strong. The film itself has been
nearly ubiquitous on the European festival circuit this year and may be the signal for a strong Polish comeback to the festival scene where Polish films have, of late, been conspicuous only by their absence.

THE FIPRESCI International Critics Award (FIPRESCI Prize) was
awarded to “Optimisti” (The Optimists) by Goran Paskaljevic of Serbia.
“For his courage in filming stories which tell the History of a people
whose only choice is optimism.” Goran’s second award.

The Young Jury, awarded its prize to “Volim te” (I Love You) by Dalibor Matanic (Croatia)“As much for its delicate and universal subject of AIDS, as for its photographic quality and the atmosphere it creates. The
recurrence of events shows that our acts sometimes lead to indelible consequences.” The story focuses on a hip young man in Zagreb who is something of a social lion but then contracts AIDS as the result of a faulty blood transfusion – and how this affects his life – including his hetero-sexual lovelife. Not a pretty film to look at but one which provides a sharp look into contemporary life in Zagreb.
The same jury also awarded a Mention to Goran Pakaljevic’s
“Optimisti” (The Optimists) making this film the big award sweeper with a trio of distinctions.

The Egli-Swiss Effects Award to encourage a wide broadcasting of a film on a medium (masterization to DVD) is awarded to “Bradford Riots”by
Neil Biswas (UK) -- “A forceful treatment of the real and tragic events that turned this region of Northern England upside down.”

The CINEMA TOUT ECRAN Reflet d’Or for the Best TV Series overall
was extended by Geneva International Airport to the new German
series “Türkisch für Anfänger (Turkish for Beginners) by Edzard Onneken
and Olivier Schmitz. -- “For its strong story, its scathing humour and the
insolence and liberty it gives to a burning subject. Quite simply, a joy
and a must see!” Details on this in my previous Geneva report.
The Tribune de Genève (daily newspaper) Audience Award for Best
new Swiss TV Series went to the rib-tickling “Nos Archives Secretes”, a
tongue-in-cheek pseudo-documentary on Swiss “participation” in
major historical events of the Twentieth Century.

POSTER NOTE: There Have been a number of unusually beautiful posters in festivals I have attended this year but the official poster for 12th TOUT ECREAN takes the cake. Designed apparently by a young lady I was unable to track down during the festival, this poster is dominated by a most unusual picture of Bette Davis in her blonde early thirties look, wearing a slinky blood red off the shoulder gown and casting one of her meaest glances of all time downward and off to the side. My own personal award for Best Official Festival Poster of the year 2OO6. Someo9ne ought to orhanize an annual festival poster competition.

Alex Deleon