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| Inside Amir Photo: Courtesy of Giornate degli Autori |
Amir Aziz's Inside Amir has been award the top prize Director’s Award in the Venice Days (Giornate degli Autori) independent parallel section at Venice Film Festival.
The Tehran-set drama takes us into the head of a young man who is preparing to leave the Iranian city to join his girlfriend, who has moved to Italy but who is torn about his decision. The drama moves between his encounters with friends and family and his memories of the past.
The jury, headed by Norwegian director Dag Johan Haugerud described it as "a meditation on everyday life", adding: "It reminds us of how daily routines, movements, and conversations with friends provide both security and freedom. With a framing that little by little reveals a complex life marked by loss and grief against a backdrop of exile and social upheaval, the film asks fundamental questions about what it means to belong and the existential doubts that follow in the wake of such thoughts."
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| The delegation of Inside Amir Photo: © Giornate degli Autori/Moris Puccio |
The prize is €20,000 (£17,000), to be split equally between the filmmaker and the film’s international distributor, who agrees to use the sum received to promote the winning film internationally.
The Europa Cinemas Label award was presented to Bearcave, directed by Stergios Dinopoulos and Krysianna B Papadakis. It charts the relationship between two young queer women in a Greek mountain village.
The jury said: "Both a clash and a fusion of the old and new, the film is constructed a little like a thriller, but there is also more than a touch of the supernatural. The music, editing and photography are really original, and the performances by the two girls are exceptional. We really hope that the award of the Label will encourage distributors and audiences around Europe."
The prize consists of a financial contribution towards distribution and promotion, as well as a guarantee for the winning film that it will be shown in the cinemas belonging to the network.
The People’s Choice Award was shared by Vladlena Sandu’s Memory and Cyril Aris’s A Sad and Beautiful World which both received the same share of the vote from audiences.
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| Bearcave Photo: Courtesy of Giornate degli Autori |
