The Winners of Andaras 2021
For the ability to combine talent, intelligence, sensitivity, pathos, interpretation and the ability to surprise in sixty seconds.
In one minute one enters the story of Leo's report which gets brutally interrupted by a guard’s baton. It takes the viewer from a dimension of childish play with the shower receiver transformed into a microphone to the brutal, barren, desperate, obtuse reality of a football game played in a refugee camp. The net pursued by Messi in the words of the aspiring Pizzul becomes once again the fencing net of a tented camp in the middle of the desert.
It is a harsh metaphor, a brutal awakening from dream to reality for the budding commentator and his very young blind companion, an effective wake up call for us viewers, a warning about the condition of so many kids who also share our modern heroes. However, they remain on the margins, they starve and are excluded.
A thoughtful film. A work that does not embellish the reality it tells: the gold mine of Perma, in Benin. It doesn’t add too many cutesy images or too much information, but rather creates a sense of humanity that inhabits that reality, and illuminates its places through unusual angles.
An objective tale of fortunes, misfortunes, daily challenges to survive at work, and death. The discovery of gold can be both heroism or condemnation. Simon Panay, the director, is non-judgmental and able to expose himself, while leaving the viewer in a state of suspension, in which they have to listen to the normality that he paints. A normality which he declines with grace and gentle irony.
This is the story of a worldwide event, seen from the point of view of the inhabitants of a remote place, one that is far from the classic sci-fi cinematographic imagery. It’s also the story of the relationship between a father and a son, which pits two distant generations against each other.
This is a movie that asks the question: what happens when our unshakable beliefs are blown away by an explosive event, which transforms them into old-fashioned prejudices? To what extent would we be able to withstand such a shock wave?
For the ability to use one of science fiction classic tropes in an innovative way, the prize for the Narrative Shorts category goes to "So what if the goats die".
The director has chosen to narrate the most dramatic journey with the outmost care and attention to details: it’s the story of a group of migrants, who start their journey full of expectations and hopes, admist dances and songs, and it ends in tragedy.
For the care and attention to detail with which the director has chosen to narrate the most dramatic journey: that of a group of migrants, who leave full of expectations and hopes, amidst dances and songs, and ends in tragedy. A refrigerated truck is used as a backdrop: bloody quarters hanging like wings, the contrast between the music and the carefree air of the cynical driver and people in panic as they are locked in the back of the truck. Everything is accurate and detailed. The fact that the performers are dolls does not detract from the drama and pathos of the narration. The film is inspired by a true story, and the viewers experience a crescendo of emotions as they realize the frightening ending. The discovery of the only surviving baby in the belly of one of the transported animal carcasses is the final twist that brings hope.
For the ability to tell an underprivileged man’s search for freedom in an elegant but never softened way. A young man who sacrifices his skin, bones, veins and finally his beloved father for his journey. While the journey remains a distant hope, the viewer is dragged into a spiral of emotions that expose many of the founding archetypes of Western culture. Both the protagonist and the viewers are left asking themselves the most relevant questions of all: What is a man?
The darkness at the end of the film reflects the tragedy of having to answer such a question and dealing with an unimaginable choice.
The film takes the complexity of Greek tragedy and combines it with the simplicity of modern narrative. The space-time unity and the linearity of the symbols displayed (the fishing boat, the phone, the water), together with the fisher’s language, create a dramaturgical balance which keeps the viewer constantly emotional and sincerely interested in the fate of the characters. The film manages to transform the simplicity of the theme of the journey into a profound anthropological inspection. From the Homerian “Nostos” to the contradictions and paradoxes of modern society, the film manages to capture the viewer’s imagination, doing justice to the tragedy of immigration that has never been as relevant as today.
A film about visions and a vision, which highlights the power of the community even if it’s made by only two individuals who really see each other, accept both their similarities and differences, and transform a flaw into a virtue. The protagonist’s bitterness comes from his strange superpowers which bring him more embarrassments than advantages, and everyone who’s not able to accept their own flows can relate to that feeling. The film combines a Quentin Tarantinoish soundtrack, western film landscapes and a delicate yet fun tribute to the adventure journey on the road. It is a redemption journey: Archibald finds in the solitary Indiana someone who accepts his true self and shares his diversity. Through this brilliantly comic film Daniel Perez invites the viewers to see flaws as superpowers.
For the ability to transform a journey into a sensory experience through the use of sounds; for the cinematography that allows the viewer to live the story firsthand; and for the creative editing that masterfully matches the music with all kinds of emotions and scenarios.
For the ability to involve the viewers in the story and make them experience the tension that a haute cuisine restaurant team lives every day. For the subjects chosen and the succession of shots which narrate the chef’s hard work and high level performance in a realistic way, showing what’s behind a plate.
For the ability to speak the truth, to tell stories about genuine people, hard work and sense of belonging: the identity of a community is linked to the cultivation of lentils and the knowledge, traditions, customs and stories that come from it. For showing that farmers are the true custodians of our planet’s biodiversity, which we are destroying on a daily basis. Doing things well requires hard work and shared effort. We thank the film for reminding us of that.
For being able to capture the fascinating story of a traveling cook and engage the viewers in a few minutes. Interesting elements of the film are the narrating voice, the cinematography and the contrast between the wild nature and the haute cuisine plates.
For exposing and deconstructing the stereotypes linked to people and cultural belongings in an ironic way. The Chop deals with the conflict between Jews and Arabs in such a way that you would think that things can change starting from a laugh. A well-structured and entertaining film with good actors.
For the mature and powerful words and silences. For the young protagonist, Christian Petaroscia.
A football match unites a country like never before. An unprecedented victory that remains in the memory of those who watched it at the stadium, in their houses or in a distant country. The stories of the protagonists celebrate their country and the power of football that both unites the entire people and becomes a real family legacy passed down through generations.
The final image of the dictator who tries to take credit for the victory and doesn’t let go of the cup while the players are celebrating, becomes the premonition of what will happen 7 years later. A revolution will start in Tunisia and spread to a great part of the Arab world, forcing the dictator to surrender his power and leave the country.
For interpreting Bruna’s tormented and nonconformist soul with style and personality: a character who finds herself stuck between pride and disappointments. For the Sardinian version of Carmen.
Like La casa de papel the film stages with lightness and irony the diabolic revenge of a group of elderly people in a hectic world.
For the ambitious authorial research demonstrated through an accurate and careful composition of the shots and the rhythm of the images that remind us of poetry.
For telling us an intimate story, of resistance and courage, that become a window through which participate in a universal tale. For the ability to seek the beauty even in places where the war destroyed everything, and for telling us a story of great resistance.