If the world that was yours ends, if you cannot even smell the source of life, there isn't much left to say. This short film witnesses the future seems far away, but the hope lies in the image outside the cosmos of those who rule.
68th International Short Film Days Oberhausen
30.04.2022 to 09.05.2022
Oberhausen
The Ecumenical Jury Oberhausen 2022 with director and speaker of the winning film (from left: Jean-Jacques Cunnac, Joël Friso, Panos Aprahamian, Zuhour Mahmoud, Anna-Maria Kégl; © Alexander Bothe)
The two Ecumenical Juries in Oberhausen awarded their prizes to the Lebanese film "Odorless Blue Flowers Awake Prematurely" by Panos Aprahamian (International Competition) and to "37" by Meshy Koplevitch from Israel (International Online Competition) . The Grand Prize of the City of Oberhausen went to "Weathering Heights" by Hannah Wiker Wikström (Sweden), the Online Grand Prize to "Ava mocoi, os gêmeos" by Luiza Calagian and Vinicius Toro (Cuba/Brazil) The Ecumenical Online Jury also awarded a Commendation to "Blink in the Desert" by Shinobu Soejima (Japan). The Ecumenical Jury's recommendation for a film in the Children and Youth Film Competition went to "Titan" by Valéry Carnoy (France). "Weathering Heights" also won the FIPRESCI Prize of the Jury of International Film Critics.
As in the previous year, the festival was held in two parts - an online section (29.4.-3.5.) and an on-site festival (4.5.-9.5.). Accordingly, there were two international competitions - the international online competition with 6 programmes and the international on-site competition with 8 programmes. Both competitions were observed and judged by an Ecumenical Jury of three members each.
The awarding of the Prize of the Ecumenical Online Jury Oberhausen 2022 (English)
Awards
Odorless Blue Flowers Awake Prematurely
Directed by:
2021
Directed by:
2021
For combining depth and simplicity, compassion and vision. A film which moves from live action to free-form watercolour animation sees a young woman tell the story of her father's experience during the Yom Kippur War. Blending memory, history, and personal reflection, 73 is a powerful film about death and the life-giving resurrection which occurs through love. The film points to us the need for loving our enemies and thus reveals the reality of a shared humanity restored in the most difficult of times.
Directed by:
2021
For the film’s inclusive use of animated characters of humans, animals, and insects told through poetic visual composition and sound. With almost no dialogue, Blink in the Desert reflects on human aggression and indifference adopted to destroy what we do not know or understand and giving rise to agony on all sides. The film is an internal call for peace and progress, empathy and compassion, and the accommodation of differences.
Directed by:
2021
For its brilliant storytelling, for its powerful portrait of a 13-year-old teenager confronting the violence of a strange initiation ritual, in search of an identity. A touching and realistic chronicle on the body, and on a childhood in turmoil preserved by the unconditional love of a mother. A film that moves both teenagers and adults.
More about the festival
The 68th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen featured a compelling range of short films from around the world. The films in competition included human dramas, documentary portraits, dance films, a variety of experimental works and a most intriguing selection of animated films. Mina Radovic, member of the Ecumenical Jury, reports.
Joël Friso, member of the Ecumenical Jury in Oberhausen 2022 and Board Member of INTERFILM, writes about his experience at the festival.
