71st International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg

17.11.2022 to 27.11.2022
Mannheim and Heidelberg


The Ecumenical Jury at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival 2022 awarded its €2,500 prize to the Israeli-Ukrainian co-production "Valeria Is Getting Married" by Michal Vinik, and a Commendation to "The Dam" by Ali Cherri. The International Newcomer Award for Best Film in Competition was won by "You Won't Be Alone" by Goran Stolevski. "The Maiden" by Graham Foy received the FIPRESCI Award, the Student Award and an Honourable Mention from the International Festival Jury.

On 17.11, the Festival opened with the romantic comedy "Diary of a Parisian Affair" by Emmanuel Mouret. The Ecumenical Jury gave its awards to a film in the competition section "On the Rise", in which the festival showed a total of 16 films. Other sections included "Pushing the Boundaries", a retrospective, a children's film festival and "Facing New Challenges", in which the festival presents new forms of moving image beyond narrative cinema. Master classes were given by cinematographer Benoît Debie and director Alice Winokur.

Link: Festival-Website

Awards

Valeria Is Getting Married
Directed by:
2022

What happens in this film, and why, unfolds in a swirling, brilliantly constructed, written and directed drama with moments of humour, as well. A chamber play at its best, where not only interests and emotions collide, but also countries. Might freedom be more important than a comfortable life gained through an arranged marriage? The director observes her characters with lucidity and tenderness, especially the sisterhood bonding two women who seek emancipation between two countries: Israel and Ukraine.

 

The Dam
Directed by:
2022

As Khartoum is caught up in the throes of revolution, Maher goes about his business working in a brickyard far outside the capital; we see the bustling and silent progress of the workers there. In a grandiose and brightly lit landscape, the film’s protagonist experiences his own inner revolution, which the director translates into universal symbols: water purifies, fire embraces, and earth reminds us of the human condition. Maher resists the powers of this world as he tries to tame the roiling waters of the Nile released by the dam.

More about the festival

We often talk about Christians' attachment to cinema, as a path of faith, a crisp look to the world and a window open to an invisible kingdom. Today, I would like to reverse the discourse and evoke the fascination of filmmakers for the religious rituals, says Magali van Reeth in her greeting at the Ecumenical Reception in Mannheim 2022.