The Uzbek short film Mama-Mother (Uzbekistan, 2017, 17’30”) by Abduazim Ilkhomjonov and Botir Abdurakhmonov, produced by the Uzbekistan State Institute of Arts and Culture is the winner of the International Competition of the 8th annual Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival, the first festival in Europe entirely organised and run by a university, which aims to map the new cinema trends and discover new talents from film schools around the world.
The judges’ panel is composed of three directors: Roberta Torre from Italy, Hiroki Hayashi from Japan. And Marcin Bortkiewicz from Poland. They selected the winners the International Competition awards, which are all prestigious Murano glass art sculptures conceived and realised by the professional glassmaker Alessandro Mandruzzato, as well as the Levi Prize, the ‘Pateh Sabally’ prize and the Music Video Competition.
The Provost for cultural activities and relationships, Flavio Gregori, began the closing ceremony by applauding the success of the festival that is growing year after year, underlining how the quality of the contenders has reached amazing levels. In the year of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of Ca’ Foscari, the Short Film Festival has now become an event of great international appeal for the university, also integrating ever more harmoniously into the fabric of the Venetian city.
Before the awards for the International Competition were presented, there was a spectacular live performance by Simona and Carlo Truzzi, two of the greatest interpreters in the world of shadow art, the art of Chinese shadows at its best. The figures that the two artists were able to make with the simple aid of a cloth, a source of light, and their hands, completely stunned the audience who came to the Auditorium. They crafted silhouettes of famous figures such as Elvis, Einstein and Steve Jobs, as well as great historical actors such as Charlie Chaplin and Humphrey Bogart.
As usual, the ceremony was concluded by inviting all the volunteer staff on stage, who with great enthusiasm and en ever-increasing professionalism represent the life and soul of the festival. The artistic director of the festival, Roberta Novielli, confirmed next year’s festival.
AWARDS
The first prize for the best ’short’ of the competition was presented by Flavio Gregori, Vice-Rector for the activities and cultural relationships of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. It was presented to Mama- Mother - by Abduazim Ilkhomjonov and Botir Abdurakhmonov for the following reasons:
For the simplicity in the choice of meanings and expressions that help to show the tragedy impossible to show.
Their short film, Mother, is set in Uzbekistan in 1943, when the women of a village prepare to give asylum to the war orphans forced to leave their homes following violent clashes on the eastern front. In mourning for the loss of her husband and son who had fallen in battle, a woman will welcome four war orphans and serve as their mother, trying to make up for the immense void left by mourning the loves of her life.
The judges also awarded Volumina special mention for the work that best contributes to cinema as an art, to the animated short film Astral by Bérénice Motais from Narbonne (France, 2017, 12’), from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs of Paris. The award, presented by the member of the scientific committee, Keiko Kusabe, consists of a prestigious photographic book on cinema produced by Volumina. The work of the young French director was rewarded for having the courage to have dealt with a particular theme, which maintains its limits, but which does not hinder family love.
Magda, the protagonist, is a thirteen year old girl who can leave her body during the night to become an astral projection. When she travels in her inner world she meets different entities that lead her to ask questions about her identity, including her sexual identity. Since her ideas of love and pleasure do not seem to fit with what society would expect from a girl like her, she relates with the monsters she meets on her travels, through which she will try to find her balance.
The Levi Prize for best soundtrack (music, word, sound effects) was given by the Ugo and Olga Levi Foundation and judged by a special jury composed of Luisa Zanoncelli, Roberto Calabretto, Massimo Contiero and Gabriele Roberto. It was awarded to Roditeli prikhali ko mne na Sri Lanku – Parents Came to Me to Sri Lanka (Russia, 2017, 29’50”) by Vera Vodynski from N.S. Mikhalkov Academy of Cinematography and Theatre Arts. The protagonist, Alex, lives carefree in Sri Lanka, squandering his parents’ money, completely immersed in a paradisiac world, certain that all this will carry on forever. His lifestyle, however, is abruptly interrupted by the arrival of his parents. Their appearance coincides with the mystical revelation of the local god, Shamka who has a curious request for Alex. The award, presented by the President of the scientific committee of the Levi Luisa Zanoncelli Foundation, was awarded for the following reasons:
We appreciated the artistic level of the result and the originality of the conception: skillful use of folk and exotic instruments (steel pan, didgeridoo) to create cinematic musical compositions without documentary connotations; refined symbolic functions (the saxophone evokes the sound of the reed instrument used by snake charmers, the interpretation of inevitable acceptance of Beethoven’s Fur Elise without pathos) and lastly the use of non-standard sounds.
The ‘Pateh Sabally’ prize was presented by the Municipality of Venice, Murano and Burano, dedicated in the memory of the Gambian boy who tragically died in the waters of the Grand Canal in January of last year. It was awarded to A(U)N by TS Prasanna (India, 2017, 12’). The short film tells the story of a photographer who, during a countryside visit, comes across a native. When he first attempts to take a photo, the camera is immediately seen as a weapon. The native reacts by launching a bow and arrow at him. The man of the forest begins to follow to the man of the city, curious to learn more about that mysterious instrument. The award was presented by Giovanni Andrea Martini, President of the Municipality of Venice.
The winner of the fifth edition of the ‘Olga Brunner Levi’ Prize was awarded by the Ugo and Olga Levi Foundation in collaboration with the Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival. The award - the stylised sculpture of a gondola - was given to the best short film by students in their second year of secondary school all over the world. The subject is the female musical performance and the relationship between the female condition and the music in history. The winner, decided by a jury composed of Luisa Zanoncelli, Roberto Calabretto and Roberta Novielli, ended up being, Untitled by Alexander Puga and Monica Matute (USA, 2017, 4’26”), with an experimental dance video depicting women, with their struggles and their beauty, in an urban context. The award was presented by Massimo Contiero, a member of the scientific committee of the Levi Foundation.
Lastly, the winner of the second Music Video Competition was announced, a competition for music videos made by film students or universities from all over the world. Winning the competition curated by Giovanni Bedeschi, was Oborri – Shine Your Light by Dritëro Mehmetaj (Kosovo, 2017, 5’38”).
SHORT FOR 150 YEARS
The Short Film Festival 2018 has contributed to the 150th anniversary celebrations, with some specially dedicated moments to the 150 years through three initiatives:
During the inauguration ceremony, the mockumentary Angelo’s Folly- or the evil Prediction of Representation, directed by Tommaso Giacomin about Anja Boato was shown for the first time. It follows the mysterious story of Ca’ Foscari, which is the story of lost prophecy, whose revelation would awaken a prodigious power hidden for 150 years within the walls of the building. The mockumentary was filmed in the streets of Venice and inside the main building of the University, with Mauro Gazzato as a cast member.
