Daryna, a migrant from Ukraine, working as a maid in a well-off Italian household, comes back to her family and feels torn apart between those two different lives. The director, in a very subtle way, stresses out how the relations and necessities of the different characters are driven by money. Daryna's struggle for dignity as a woman, mother and wife fuels a process where all her environment undergoes some deep changes. Taking place during Easter, her faithfulness to where she comes from, helps her to be at peace with her life.
65th International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg
10.11.2016 to 20.11.2016
Mannheim and Heidelberg
The Ecumenical Jury Mannheim-Heidelberg 2016 (© Kirsten de Vos)
The International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg focusses on young filmmakers. It is a festival of discoveries. 19 films were scheduled in the International Newcomers Competition, 11 films in the International Newcomers Discoveries, and another 11 films in the section International Independent Cinema. A programme of 41 films, along with 8 children films, displays the courage of a rigorous restraint and of a confident selection. Each single film, festival director Michael Kötz explained in his opening speech, retains significance and importance by this procedure.
The Ecumenical Jury awarded its Prize to the Ukrainian film (co-produced by Italy) "Gnizdo Gorlytsi" (The Nest of the Turtledoves) by Taras Tkachenko and a Commendation to "Dnevnik masinovodje" (Train Driver's Diary) by Milos Radovic from Serbia. The International Jury presided by Peter Lilienthal gave the main award of the festival to "Reşeba" (The Dark Wind, Kurdistan, Germany, Qatar), directed by Hussein Hassan. The film tells about the abduction and rape of Yazidi women by IS and their and their communities traumas caused by these crimes. The film was supported by the Evangelical Centre for Films on Development (EZEF) in Germany which is part of the Protestant Institute for Welfare and Development - Bread for the World.
Link: Festival website
Awards
The Nest of the Turtledove
Directed by:
2016
Train Driver's Diary
Train Driver's Diary
Directed by:
2016
With a very macabre humour but full of empathy for its characters, this film is about a small community of train drivers and their fear of killing people by accident. With a talented use of the magic of cinema, an unusual father and son relationship follows the tracks of sacrifice and redemption.
