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The Golden Tower of the 30th European Film Festival Palić to the film "Afire" by Christian Petzold

21.07.2023.

At the final press conference of the 30th Palić European Film Festival, on July 21 on the Great Terrace, the winners of the Golden Tower for the Best Film, the Palić Tower for the Best Director, Special Mentions of the international jury, the award for the Best Film in the Parallels and Encounters program, Special Mention in this section, and the award of the FIPRESCI jury for the Best Film in the Official Selection, were announced, and will be presented at the closing ceremony of the Festival.

The international jury of the Official Selection – the main competition program of the 30th Palić European Film Festival, consisting of: festival director Tito Rodríguez (Spain), festival selector Daniela Weber (Germany), screenwriter and director Nana Janelidze (Georgia), screenwriter and director Milorad Milinković (Serbia) and screenwriter and director Eran Kolirin (Israel), awarded the Golden Tower for the Best Film to Christian Petzold 's "Afire".

In its explanation, the jury emphasized that they awarded the film "For reminding us again of the unique power of cinema to articulate, maybe more profoundly than any other art form, the state of humankind at this moment, in time on the edge of the volcano."

The Jury awarded the Palić Tower Award for Best Director to Ádám Császi for the film "Three Thousand Numbered Pieces", "for its subversive and impertinent filmmaking and the sublime manipulation of time and frame, and for making us face what we would rather not ".

The jury awarded Special Mentions to the films "Club Zero" by Jessica Hausner and "Inside" by Vasilis Katsoupis.

"For its modern cross of genres and styles, and its detuned harmonies and sublime overtones, which were heaven to our ears, we would like to give Special Mention to the music of Club Zero" says the first explanation of the special mention.

About the film "Inside", the jury wrote: "A film that comes straight of Plato’s cave. What at first seems to be a reflection on the origins of art is soon to become a deep meditation on the state of humanity on the verge of extinction and man’s eternal struggle with his creator."

The international jury, consisting of: producer Ivana Marinić Kragić, actress and director Bonnie Williams, actress Nancy Mensah- Offei, made a unanimous decision to choose "Citizen Saint" by director Tinatin Kajrishvili the Best Film in the competition program Parallels and Encounters. According to the jury, this is "a film with a powerful approach to a well built script, with a strongly defined visual style."

Special Mention of the International Jury of the Parallels and Encounters program is unanimously awarded to the film "Cold as Marble" by Asif Rustamov. In the explanation of the jury, it was stated that this production "tells a love story that exposes the violent effects of generational trauma in a patriarchal society."

The FIPRESCI jury of the 30th Palić European Film Festival, consisting of: Renaud Baronian, Mike Naafs and Alejandra Trelles, awarded the FIPRESCI prize for the Best Film in the Official Selection to the film "Afire" by Christian Petzold. The explanation of the award reads: "The FIPRESCI Jury wants to award a film that explores human relations with both sensible and sensitive sense of passion and humour, achieving a film pregnant with literature, love and life’s troubles. Moreover, this film does an excellent exploration of the insecurities of an artist, whilst building an utmost powerful portrait of humankind."