"Sister" wins the Golden Athena
Ursula Meier's "Sister" was awarded the highest prize of the 18th Athens International Film Festival at the closing ceremony which wrapped the 11-day festival.
Ursula Meier's "Sister" was awarded the highest prize of the 18th Athens International Film Festival at the closing ceremony which wrapped the 11-day festival. The film, now playing in Greek cinemas, moved the jury "not only with its excellence but also with the sensitivity with which it deals with themes such as family, loneliness and the loss of innocence", according to the jury president, Eftychia Iosifidou.
In her thank-you letter, Ursula Meier, who could not attend due her travel arrangements, said she was moved by the honour and thanked the jury for singling out this story, "a fable about the contemporary world and the notion of family, which could have
The Golden Athena of the Music & Film competition section went to "Searching for Sugar Man" by Malik Bendjelloul, a unanimous desicion by the jury for a film that's an "exciting journey into the heart of music and the soul of a great artist". Moments before announcing the big winnter, the jury president, Christos Mitsis, revealed that the jury's Special Mention goes to "Marley" by Kevin Macdonald, before complimenting all films of this section on the aesthetic diversity and high quality, which made their job "pleasant and easy".
Watch the director's thank-you speech
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The City of Athens Best Director award went to "An Oversimplification of Her Beauty" by Terence Nance, thanks to its "fresh directorial outlook which combines several cinematic genres with pictorial originality"
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Lucy Malloy's "One Night" won Best Screenplay for the "journey into the streets and the fading aspirations of Havana, through the coming-of-age story of three characters."
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"Teddy Bear" by Mads Matthiesen won the Audience award and was screened after the closing ceremony.
Watch the director's thank-you speech
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The Greek short film competition section winners also accepted their trophies, with Neritan Zinxhiria getting on stage last to pick up the Best Film award for "Chamomile" and its accompanying cash prize of 2,000 euros. Last but not least, the two-year scholarship by the Metropolitan College and CINEMA magazine, was won by Ifigeneia Dimitriou..
At the start of the evening, the festival's artistic director, Orestis Andreadakis, after thanking the sponsors, the volunteers and the staff, presented a video compilation of some of the best moments of this year's edition, shot and edited by Vassilis Spyrou.