The Serbian film “Have You Seen This Woman?” by Matija Gluščević and Dušan Zorić wins the Black Movie Critics’ Prize in Geneva. The 24th edition of the international independent film festival attracted nearly 30,000 people.
The public was present to discover 91 films from more than 50 countries presented during the Black Movie festival in Geneva, which closed its 24th edition on Sunday with an overall attendance of nearly 30,000 festival-goers, i.e. around 5,000 more only in 2022.
The demonstration “was able to savor the return to post-pandemic normality”, organizers said on Sunday. But the coronavirus has broadened the festival’s approach. Almost half of the films were also shown online.
The organizers note the “persistent” attraction for South Korean works. The visiting Iranian and Iranian filmmakers attracted a large audience. Another success according to the organisers, the Petit Black Movie appealed to young and old alike.
A film that honors a marginalized woman
The Critics’ Prize, endowed with 5,000 francs, was awarded to Matija Gluščević and Dušan Zorić for their film “Have You Seen This Woman?”. Serbian surrealist fable, this film tells the story of a lonely fifty-year-old woman who invents identities for herself to exist.
The jury notes that the film “gives a voice to a woman in her fifties, usually marginalized in our society. Directors Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluščević create a grotesque environment in which they place Draginja, played in a sensual and touching way by Ksenija Marinković” and adds that “this multifaceted character breaks free from the roles and conventions that have been assigned to him, and the film reflects his choices through a deliberately deconstructed narrative.”
>> To see: the trailer for the film “Have You Seen This Woman” (VO with English subtitles)
A special mention was awarded to the Rwandan film “Father’s Day” by Kivu Ruhorahoza.
The Youth Prize of 1,000 francs went to the Vietnamese film “Children of the Mist” by Hà Lệ Diễm. That of the Petit Black Movie, endowed with the same amount, was awarded to the short film “Ice Merchants” by Portuguese director João Gonzalez.
A special mention honored the film “A White-White Day” by Vasily Tchirkov. For its part, the Children’s Prize hailed the Chinese animated short “Beyond the Fog” by Xue Feng and Han Xu. The next edition will take place from January 19 to 28, 2024, according to the organizers.
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