Olivér Rudolf’s “My Mother, the Monster” has won the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award at Sarajevo Film Festival’s CineLink, its industry section that featured projects from Southeast Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
The Hungarian feature film project, which is produced by Genovéva Petrovits at Kino Alfa, received a cash prize of €20,000 ($21,727).
The film focuses on Éva, a mother in her forties who is disappointed with her life and tired of feeling insignificant. She finds a new identity behind a scary monster mask which liberates her.
The Post Republic Award, in the CineLink Work in Progress section, went to “One of Those Days Where Hemme Dies,” directed by Murat Fıratoğlu. The project, which is produced by Nefes Polat at Turkey’s Nefes Films, receives post-production services worth €30,000.
The film shows one day in the life of Eyüp, a poor guy in the city, working hard drying and salting tomatoes under the summer sun. He gets frustrated about not being given his daily wage and decides to kill Hemme, but the two men end up at a wedding together.
The CineLink Impact Award went to Ensar Altay’s “Kanto,” produced by Suleyman Civliz at Turkey’s Fikirdöküm. It receives production services worth €20,000. It is a story about an older woman who disappears on a snowy evening. Her friends, the police, and even her family think she has just run away and wants to be alone, so they stop looking for her, except for one person.
The Female Voices Cinelink Award and €10,000 went to drama series “Connections,” created by Tea Korolija, Maja Todorović and Srđan Šaper, and produced by Serbia’s Adrenalin. It is an anthology series that explores various aspects of romantic relationships, delving deep into the characters’ psychology and examining how society and the environment influence them.
The Croatian Audiovisual Center Drama Award, with a €15,000 cash prize, was won by North Macedonian TV series “Adventures of a Turbo Folk Princess.” The creators are Andrey Volkashin and Peter Vulchev, and the production company is Oxo Production. After accidentally poisoning her gangster fiancé, clumsy sweetheart Vaska runs away with his money to fulfil her dream of becoming a pop star, mentored by the short-tempered prostitute Eboni.
CINELINK CO-PRODUCTION MARKET
EURIMAGES CO-PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT AWARD – €20,000
Jury: Eleni Chandrinou, Greek National Representative Eurimages; Labina Mitevska, Sisters&Brother Mitevski; Oliver Neumann, Freibeuterfilm Gmbh
Winner: “My Mother, the Monster”
Director: Olivér Rudolf
Production Company: Kino Alfa
Country: Hungary
FILM CENTER MONTENEGRO AND FILM CENTER SERBIA CINELINK AWARD
Jury: Ivan Karl, Film Center Serbia; Sanja Jovanović, Film Center Montenegro; Behrooz Hashemian, Silkroad Production; Čedomir Kolar, A.S.A.P. Films
Film Center Montenegro Cinelink Award – €10,000
Winner: “A Long Embrace”
Director: Gabriel Tzafka
Production company: Wild at Heart
Country: Greece
Film Center Serbia Cinelink Award – € 10,000
Winner: “Primavera”
Director: Dušan Kasalica
Production company: Meander Film
Country: Montenegro
ARTEKINO INTERNATIONAL PRIZE – €6,000
Jury: Mathilde Hersant, Arte France Cinéma
Winner: “Antonivka”
Director: Kateryna Gornostai
Production company: Moon Man
Country: Ukraine
CINELINK CO-PRODUCTION MARKET & CINELINK DRAMA
FEMALE VOICES CINELINK AWARD, FILM CENTER SLOVENIA – €10,000
Jury: Nataša Bučar, Film Center Slovenia; Anamaria Antoci, Tangaj Productions; Tamara Tatishvili, Focal Medici
Winner: “Connections”
Creators: Tea Korolija, Maja Todorović, Srđan Šaper
Production companies: Adrenalin
Country: Serbia
CINELINK DRAMA
Jury: Srđan Vuletić, director; Cia Edström, Göteborg Film Festival; Danna Stern, In Transit Productions
Croatian Audiovisual Center Drama Award – €15,000
Winner: “Adventures of a Turbo Folk Princess”
Creators: Andrey Volkashin, Peter Vulchev
Production Company: Oxo Production
Countries: North Macedonia and Bulgaria
TV Drama Vision Pitch Award – €2,000
Winner: “Amazons of Istanbul”
Creators: Nisan Dağ, Müge Özen
Production company: Solis Film
Country: Turkey
CINELINK WORK IN PROGRESS
Jury: Sébastien Chesneau, Cercamon; Petra Gobel, Post Republic; Esra Demirkiran, Turkish National Radio Television; Jim Kolmar, South By Southwest Film Festival; Jean-Marc Zekri, Quinzaines Des Cinéastes
Turkish National Radio Television Award – €25,000
Winner: “As If You Were Never Here”
Director: Eti Tsicko
Production companies: Lama Films, Intrigó Internazionale and 20 Steps
Countries: Israel, Italy and Georgia
Post Republic Award – In Kind Post-Production Services Worth €30,000
Winner: “One of Those Days Where Hemme Dies”
Director: Murat Fıratoğlu
Production company: Nefes Films
Country: Turkey
CINELINK IMPACT AWARD
Jury: Faridah Gbadamosi, Tribeca Enterprises; Amy Shepherd, Think-Film Impact Production; Rory Thost, Participant
Think-Film Impact Production – €20,000 In Kind
Winner: “Kanto”
Director: Ensar Altay
Production company: Fikirdöküm
Country: Turkey
DOCU ROUGH CUT BOUTIQUE
Jury: Tereza Keilova, HBO Europe; Eugen Kelemen, Avanpost; Catherine Leclef, Cat&Docs; Marcel Maiga, Dok Leipzig; Lejla Dedić, Al Jazeera Balkans; Sofia Tocar, Institute of Documentary Film
Avanpost Award – In Kind Post-Production Services Worth €20,000
Winner: “Adelina: Symphony of Longing and Estrangement”
Director: Rati Tsiteladze
Production company: Artway Film
Country: Georgia
Cat&Docs Award – €2,000
Winner: “Your Life Without Me”
Director: Anna Rubi
Production company: Somnus Film
Countries: Hungary, Sweden
HBO Max Award – €2,000
Winner: “Adelina: Symphony of Longing and Estrangement”
Director: Rati Tsiteladze
Production company: Artway Film
Country: Georgia
Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival/Ajb Doc Award – €2,000
Winner: “Pavilion 6”
Director: Goran Dević
Production company: 15th Art Productions
Country: Croatia
East Silver Caravan Award – In Kind Distribution Service Worth €3,500
Winner: “Your Life Without Me”
Director: Anna Rubi
Production company: Somnus Film
Countries: Hungary, Sweden
Dok Leipzig Preview Award – Invitation to Present a Project at Dok Leipzig 2023
Winner: “Pavilion 6”
Director: Goran Dević
Production company: 15th Art Productions
Country: Croatia
Monica has a BA in Journalism and English from the University of Massachusetts and an MS in Journalism and Communications from Quinnipiac University. Monica has worked as a journalist for over 20 years covering all things entertainment. She has covered everything from San Diego Comic-Con, The SAG Awards, Academy Awards, and more. Monica has been published in Variety, Swagger Magazine, Emmy Magazine, CNN, AP, Hidden Remote, and more. For the past 10 years, she has added PR and marketing to her list of talents as the president of Prime Entertainment Publicity, LLC. Monica is ready for anything and is proudly obsessed with pop culture.
