Among the contenders for the European Film Award this year are the documentaries “Mariupoli 2” by Mantas Kvedarachavichus and “The House of Pieces” by Simon Lereng Vilmont, as well as the feature films “Pamfir” by Dmitry Sukholitky-Sobchuk and “The Censor” by Peter Kerekes. This was announced by the European Film Academy on Tuesday, November 8. The names of the winners will be announced in December.
“Mariupoli 2” and “House of Shards”
“Mariupoli 2” by Mantas Kvedarachavichus, who died in Ukraine, was nominated this year for the European Film Award in the category “Best Documentary” (European Documentary). The picture was assembled from material that the Lithuanian director filmed before his death. The material was preserved by his fiancee Anna Bilobrova, who was with the director in Mariupol.
The premiere of “Mariupoli 2” took place in Cannes on May 19 this year. “Lithuanian director Kvedaravichyus arrived in Mariupol in March, filmed civilians there, lived with them, but in the end he was captured, he was tortured and killed. Beloved Mantasa was able to take out of Mariupol not only the body of her husband, but also the materials that he filmed there Friends and colleagues delicately put the footage together and made a film out of it,” director Iryna Tsylyk, who became the first Ukrainian to join the jury at the Cannes Film Festival, said about the documentary.
In the European Documentary nomination, another film about Ukraine is presented – “House of Fragments” (the title picture is a frame from the film). Danish director Simon Lereng Vilmont filmed a film about the everyday life of children from an orphanage in the Donbass in 2019-2020, before the start of a full-scale war in Ukraine. For a whole year the film crew worked in Lisichansk. The focus is on children and their everyday life in the Lisichansk Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation. Each of them has a hard fate: someone was deprived of a family by war, someone is forced to live separately from parents suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders or alcoholism.
“Pamfir” and “Censor”
The full-length feature film “Pamfir” by Ukrainian director Dmitry Sukholitky-Sobchuk is a co-production of Ukraine, France, Poland and Chile. The action takes place in Western Ukraine. The main character really wants to support his family and has to make a choice between an honest life and illegal ways to make money quickly. The film is nominated for the FIPRESCI Prize of the European Film Academy (European Discovery – Prix Fipresci).
Also, the full-length film “The Censor” by the Slovak director Peter Kerekes claims to be nominated for the FIPRESCI prize. The cooperation of Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Slovakia tells the story of a young woman, Lyuba, who was sentenced to six years in prison for the murder of her husband. She is serving a sentence in an Odessa prison – together with her son Kolya. Lyuba does not want her child to end up in an orphanage – such is the fate of the children of prisoners after they turn three years old.
Best European Films
Nominated for the prize in the category “Best Film” (European Film) are “Alcarraz” (directed by Carla Simon, premiered in February 2022 at the Berlin Film Festival), “Corsage” (directed by Marie Kreuzer), “Triangle of Sorrow” (directed by Ruben Ostlund), Holy Spider Killer (directed by Ali Abbasi), Close (directed by Lucas Dont).
European Film Academy Award, often called the “European Oscar”, was founded in 1988 in Berlin at the initiative of European filmmakers to promote European cinema in the world. It is one of the most prestigious film awards. The selection of its laureates is carried out by more than 4,000 people – members of the Academy. This year’s award ceremony will take place in Reykjavik on December 10th.