The 5th MiWorld Young Film Festival has concluded with the Official Awards assigned by the Student Jury, the Teachers’ Jury, and the Audience Jury of schools.
Official Prizes
ISMU “Big Zebra” Award – Teachers’ Jury
The Gift, by Dalmira Tilepbergen | Kyrgyzstan | 2023 | 88′
For the director’s ability to narrate with sweetness, drama, and irony the need for recognition of individual identity present in the young protagonist, as in every adolescent and every person.
For narrating how gender discrimination in the family life of a remote village in Kyrgyzstan resonates so closely with the discriminations present in our own and all contemporary societies.
For showing how cinema can be a language and a means capable of nurturing the imagination and one’s self, contributing to personal redemption.
COE “Little Zebra” Award – Students’ Jury
La voix des autres, by Fatima Kaci | France | 2023 | 30′
“The Voice of Others” carries a simple and symbolic direction, capable of reflecting the emotions and thoughts of the protagonist through the voices of others. Rim is an interpreter who acts as a mediator for asylum seekers on French soil. The director’s thoughts emerge especially through the changing shots during the “interviews,” sessions in which refugees tell their tragic stories in the hope of acceptance and human contact. Raw, objective, yet imbued with hope towards people willing to sacrifice themselves to do what is right.
Audience Award to the Best Feature Film
The Gift, by Dalmira Tilepbergen | Kyrgyzstan | 2023 | 88′
Audience Award to the Best Short Film
Festival of Slaps, by Abdou Cissé | United Kingdom | 2023 | 11′