None of the representatives of the film industry contacted by “Kulturas Rondo” is surprised by the decision of the members of the European Film Academy to award the film “Triangle of Sadness”. “It was more of a disappointment,” says Sonora Broka, creative director of the Riga International Film Festival. “In my opinion, the abundance of awards received by Ruben Östlund indicates, first of all, the fact that the members of the European Film Academy do not actively watch the nominated films, they rather rely on what they have seen. This film received the award Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival, so it was remembered by many, seen by many and loudly talked about.Secondly, it’s probably a herd instinct in the discussion of who you’re going to vote for. an arthouse cinema pop culture, why
Ruben Østlund is a rather erudite director, a good connoisseur of people, he knows very well the audience for which he makes films, and basically entertains and serves them –
it makes them have fun, they’re entertained, they have a little food for thought afterwards, but I wouldn’t say it’s a special cinematic achievement.”
Brock thinks the other films nominated in the ‘Best European Film’ category picked up thinner strings – it’s cinema about topics we should really be remembering right now: ‘Let’s say Lucas Dont’s film ‘Close’ is a story about a teen friendship – the way it should be, the way society wants to see it – about the connection between masculinity and friendship, about the fact that we don’t really allow kids to grow up to be sensitive, emotional [..]. Similarly, Maria Kreutzer’s film “Corset”, which is also an essential message (incredible as it is – still) about what it is like to be a woman who must follow the rules of how a well-mannered woman behaves, [jāseko] for etiquette to be observed in society. Also, of course, there is the question of age, of ageing: is a middle-aged woman still as valuable as a young woman? Director Marija Kreutzer points out that nothing has really changed since 1877, when Empress Elisabeth turned 40 and had a wish not to follow the strict requirements of court etiquette.”
Actress Vicky Krieps received the award for her performance in the film ‘Corset’. Paula Bērziņa – the representative of the “LUX” Audience Award selection – believes that it should not be otherwise:
“She worked for many years on behalf of European cinema, taking on many different and strong female roles.
His ability to work with such different directors from many European countries and his language skills are also very impressive. I certainly don’t mind that Vicky Cripps needed an award.”
Berziņa echoes what Broka said about “Sadness in the Triangle” that this film has probably received too many awards, which to some extent prevented the other nominated films from being highlighted. By the way, Lūkas Dont’s “Tuvu” and Ali Abbasi’s “The Holy Spider” are already in the repertoires of Latvian cinemas, while Karla Simona’s “Alcarras” will appear on our screens in the next six months. Berziņa continues: “If we look directly at the LUX Audience Award, which is the audience award, then I think ‘Triangle of Sadness’ fits better there, because it is, as Sonora said, an entertaining and uplifting work for the audience, which Perhaps these same viewers will also be drawn to watch other films from Europe, which are heavier, not so easy to understand and not so funny.”
Critic and researcher Dārta Ceriņa also has her take on the European Film Academy Award-winning film. He thinks it’s kind of a good thing that a genre film got the award, because “Triangle of Sadness” is a satire – a satire on a part of society that, as the Swedes say, “walks into the room with a sandwich of crayfish ” – about the elite and their calf tears. Ceriņa considers the themes of the five nominated films to be different and complementary to each other. At the same time, the critic draws attention to how much influence the Cannes Film Festival has –
four of the five films nominated as the best for the European Academy Award came directly from Cannes.
“My wedding project” by director Signe Baumanes participated this year in the competition for the title of the best European animated feature film. The prize was finally won by “No Dogs and Italians” by French director Alain Ugetto. Sonora Brock says it’s already a great achievement that “My Marriage Project” was among the films nominated; the competition respects Bauman’s work: “These films are extremely powerful animations, and the winning film, which, like Signe, uses puppet animation in part, but also fits into the very, very strong tradition of French animation and moreover, I believe, he speaks very sensitively about a not very pleasant fact. For France, it is a period in the early 20th century when poverty and even hunger in northern Italy forces Italian families to look for work in France, and the French they find it so annoying that they put signs on the doors of cafés, Italians and dogs… I even think it’s a film that not only talks about this time and this fact, but can also be seen in a wider context, because dividing society into different characteristics is a strong instinct of ours».
Dārta Ceriņa highlights the film “Mariupole 2” by Lithuanian director and cameraman Mantas Kvedaraviča, who died in the war, which was awarded in the documentary category. “It was quite a shocking film screening,” she recalls of her encounter with this documentary story. “The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in mid/late May. It was less than three months after the full-scale invasion [Ukrainā].” Ceriņa thinks that “Mariupole 2” has rightly gained attention.
The camera shaking in Kvedaravich’s hands, while in the background there are Ukrainians fleeing or warming themselves with a small flame, or a gentleman who no longer has a home – all this is intertwined not only on the scale of tragedy, but also in a completely raw artistic language, very raw,
observes the critic.
Sonora Brock comments on Laura Samani’s “Small Body”, which won the FIPRESCI European Discovery Award: “It’s a shocking film that I remember very well. I was worried it might not get enough attention at the festival. In my opinion, it’s a film very unusual for Italy, which touches on the situation women have to live even now, but directly [šajā stāstā] a young woman experiences it at the end of the 19th century. She gives birth to a dead child, he is still not breathing, and according to the prevailing beliefs of the time, this child ends up in a kind of room where souls who have not been baptized live; they didn’t draw a single breath, so they shouldn’t be baptized. This young woman can’t live with the thought of her baby going to some kind of antechamber of hell, so she leaves [..] on a cross-country road trip, hoping to find someone to baptize her dead child and her soul to find peace. I am extremely, extremely happy that this film has won an award and that this young director has been noticed. Because
It’s really a very unusual film and I think we’ll hear the director’s name in the future.”
