Winners at the Stockholm International Film Festival

The jury now presents its selection for the 18th Stockholm International Film Festival. The film that leaves Stockholm with the 16 lb Bronze Horse 2007 comes from Romania, and tells a gripping story of illegal abortion and societal control.
The Bronze Horse for best feature 2007 goes to 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days by Cristian Mungiu.

Mungiu’s gripping account of his native Romania and its totalitarian past takes the form of a story about a young woman helping her friend to undergo an illegal abortion. The path takes turns through a strictly controlled society, and along it lies horrifying tests for body and soul.

This year’s festival jury is: Tom Kalin (chair), Tova Magnusson-Norling, Mikael Marcimain, Lia Boysen and Mikael Flodell.

Below is a complete list of all the winners, along with the jury’s motivations.

Best Film 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days by Cristian Mungiu

The jury’s motivation: This brilliant film expresses the impact of societal repression on its characters with honesty and devastating humanity. Every aspect of the film – script, photography, performances and most importantly direction – uncovers profound truth in the smallest gestures. With its opinionated use of long takes and off-screen space, Cristian Mungiu understands the power of simplicity.

Best Actress Anamaria Marinca for 4 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days

The jury’s motivation: Never sentimental, always sharply specific, Anamaria Marinca brings empathy and complexity to her role. Throughout this film, she expresses the shifting internal tensions of her character, often with barely a word. We forget we are watching a “performance” and instead experience, moment by devastating moment, the brutal events of this day in the life of Otilia.


Best Actor Jason Patric for Expired

The jury’s motivation: Daring to be unlikable, Jason Patric combines humor and rage with unexpected shifts of rhythm and tone in this electrifying performance. It is rare in film that a deeply flawed and potentially unsympathetic character can evoke such depth of emotion. Beneath his prickly exterior and commanding physicality, we experience a fully realized character, balanced between comedy and tragedy.

Best Short Film Pathways (Mish’ Olim) by Hagar Ben-Asher

The jury’s motivation: In a strong and naked realistic approach, Hagar Ben-Asher explores the boundaries of how far a woman can go in her path to self-confirmation before she gets penalized for it. A reminder of how forbidden and threatening that female sexuality still is. In an impressive performance director/actor Hagar Ben-Asher captures this woman’s journey.

Best Music Award Oliver Bernet for Persepolis

The jury’s motivation: In this mesmerizing and original animated film, the music of Oliver Bernet enhances and contrasts the emotional experiences of the characters. His original score intertwines and explores different genres in a skillful and precise way.

Best First Feature Rodrigo Plá for The Zone

The jury’s motivation: This film features an intelligent and original execution of an increasingly evident and alarming global problem. Through its microcosm and thriller-like suspense, The Zone keeps the audience alert to the good and bad and the fear we all carry within. The simplicity of the storytelling and the genuine characters, combined with an elegant and subtle musical score, result in a film that stays with you.

HONORABLE MENTION, Best First Feature: Anton Corbijn for Control

The jury’s motivation: Never resorting to clichés about the iconic Ian Curtis, Control creates a stark, fully realized world. Featuring powerful performances throughout, Anton Corbijn goes beyond the genre of the “rock film” into an evocative portrait of these characters lives. The spare simplicity of the camera and compelling use of music captures the emotional despair and alienation of Joy Division’s sound.


Best Script Carlos Reygadas for Silent Light

The jury’s motivation: Carlos Reygadas’ screenplay in Silent Light captures the essence of life. With sparse, poetic and often painfully simplistic delivered dialogue (and through an almost documentary feeling), the film features genuine performances enhancing the cruelty of the silence. With an incredible backdrop of grand nature, Silent Light is a raw and truthful tale about human’s incapability for dealing with love, desire and responsibility.


Best Cinematography Janusz Kaminski for The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

The jury’s motivation: Janusz Kaminski’s cinematography brings expressive subjectivity and an original, off-kilter point of view to this powerful story. His bold photographic choices succeed in grounding us in the unforgettable perspective of the film’s protagonist, Jean Do. Combining visual economy with poetic lyricism, the photography of The Diving Bell and The Butterfly looks at the world with a fresh eye.


The prize of the FIPRESCI jury

This year’s jury from the international federation of film critics, FIPRESCI, is made up of Stephen Locke (Germany), Gorazd Trusnovec (Slovenia) and Geir Kamsvåg (Norway).

Best Film: Caramel by Nadine Labaki

The jury’s motivation: The FIPRESCI Jury awards the International Critics Prize to a self-assured first feature that presents serious issues in an unpredictable and entertaining way. The director, who also plays one of the main roles, weaves together the destinies of six women of different ages, backgrounds and religions, demonstrating the possibility of the co-existence of different cultures in a non-violent context. The International Critics Prize goes to CARAMEL, directed by Nadine Labaki, a new voice in the film art of Lebanon.


OTHER AWARDS

Star! Audience Award: The Star! Audience Award 2007 goes to Juno by Jason Reitman.


1 km film 2007 Andreas Tibblin

The motivation of the 1 km film jury: For an emotional intelligent and highly aesthetical and solid director. In only a few moments’ intimacy and closeness are established, proving a talented eye for characters, content and visual presentation. The director has also presented the best future project.

Honorable mention 1 km film: Alexandra Dahlström

The motivation of the 1 km film jury: From a playful and highly tempered director delivering work straight from the heart, and with a passion for the art of narration. This director charms us with an uncompromising, young and promising voice.


ifestival winner: Two Times Now by Michalis Konstantatos

For an emotional everyday horror piece, told through a cross cutting frenzy, the director poses questions on relations and where you draw the line between love and hate.

ifestival is presented together with HP.


Winner of the Let’s make a film competition: Niklas Fröberg.


Stockholm Lifetime Achievement Award 2007

Paul Schrader receives the Stockholm Lifetime Acheivement Award 2007. The motivation is as follows:

Paul Schrader possesses a unique voice, which gives life to sharp, relentless characters in a modern city. Schrader’s images of an urban jungle are drawn with intellectual clarity, and he never hesitates to push his characters to their limits. With the linguistic brilliance of a screenwriter and a director’s eye for visuals, Paul Schrader has helped advance the cinematic medium for over three decades.


Stockholm Visionary Award 2007

Wes Anderson receives the Stockholm Visionary Award 2007. The motivation is as follows:

Wes Anderson receives the Stockholm Visionary Award for his humane and humoristic portraits of solitary human beings. In his films, he creates unique and stylized universes inhabited by characters searching for something to search for. Through his visionary filmmaking, Anderson has given a modern face to the classic ‘auteur’.