18/11/2024 - Peter Hoogendoorn’s feature was named Best Film while the Jury and Cineuropa prizes went to Eric Lamhène’s Breathing Underwater

Director Peter Hoogendoorn with his Golden Olive Tree for Best Film for Three Days of Fish (© Festival del cinema europeo di Lecce)

Three Days of Fish [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Peter Hoogendoorn
film profile] has claimed the Golden Olive Tree at the 25th edition of the Lecce European Film Festival, which closed with an awards ceremony on Saturday 16 November. Peter Hoogendoorn’s feature was named Best Film by the jury presided over by Luciana Castellina and further composed of Pascal Diot, Francesco Ranieri Martinotti, Hanna Slak and Heather Stewart, for the following reason: “In addition to the economic and social crisis which is affecting the entire world, we’re seeing a serious psychological crisis which is especially impacting young people […] The film we’re honouring keenly and sensitively captures this reality, without exploring any one particularly dramatic event but instead effortlessly depicting the lives of all modern-day families, where incomprehension goes hand in hand with affection, but also with a desire and, ultimately, an attempt to get back to understanding one another”. The Dutch-Belgian movie also scooped this year’s FIPRESCI Prize, since the film “shot in splendid black and white tackles the vulnerability of human beings and the difficulty of communicating in these modern times”.

The Special Jury Prize was bestowed upon Breathing Underwater [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eric Lamhène, Rae Lyn Lee
film profile], the debut film on the subject of domestic abuse by Luxembourg screenwriter and director Eric Lamhène: “the film’s protagonist, Emma, learns in an ‘extreme way’ that it takes a lifetime to find out what it means to be a woman, but you do need to be ‘extremist’ if you want to change the world”. The movie also claimed the Cineuropa Prize, awarded by the organisation’s director Valerio Caruso, who described it as “a work which combines a refined aesthetic with an intimate yet universal narrative, and which is capable of striking a nerve with viewers at the very deepest level. Through delicate direction and intense performances, the film explores the fragile balance between vulnerability and resilience, demonstrating great sensitivity as it relays the inner journey of those who are fighting to find their place in the world”.

The trophy for Best Cinematography went to Greek movie Wishbone [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Penny Panayotopoulou, “a film which coherently combines natural-light photography and fluid camera movements to depict the harsh reality of the Greek healthcare system”. The accolade for Best Screenplay went to Drowning Dry [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laurynas Bareiša
film profile] by Lithuania’s Laurynas Bareiša “for successfully telling the stylistically audacious story of a relaxed family weekend marred by two tragic events, simultaneously deconstructing and reversing the narrative”. The film also earned itself the SNGCI Prize for Best European Actor, thanks to Paulius Markevikius.

Jim’s Story [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu
film profile] by Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu was honoured with both the Audience Award and the SNCCI Prize, the latter “for the emotional intensity of a story which broaches the difficult nature of bonds with loved ones when tested by time and deep feelings”. Last but not least, this year’s Mario Verdone Prize, which is now at its 15th edition, was awarded to Gloria! [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Margherita Vicario
film profile] by Margherita Vicario, “for the originality of this debut film which is directed confidently and whose images place music centre stage, in a story where classical music dialogues with pop, resulting in a veritable revolutionary anthem”.

The full list of prizes is as follows:

Best Film
Three Days of Fish [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Peter Hoogendoorn
film profile] - Peter Hoogendoorn (the Netherlands/Belgium)

Special Jury Prize
Breathing Underwater [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eric Lamhène, Rae Lyn Lee
film profile] - Eric Lamhène (Luxembourg/Belgium)

Best Cinematography
Wishbone [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Penny Panayotopoulou (Greece/France/Germany/Cyprus)

Best Screenplay
Drowning Dry [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laurynas Bareiša
film profile] - Laurynas Bareiša (Lithuania/Latvia)

Other awards

Audience Award
Jim’s Story [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu
film profile] - Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu (France)

Cineuropa Prize
Breathing Underwater - Eric Lamhène

SNGCI Award for Best European Actor
Paulius Markevikius - Drowning Dry

FIPRESCI Prize
Three Days of Fish - Peter Hoogendoorn

SNCCI Prize
Jim’s Story - Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu

Puglia Show Prize
Note to Self - Maria Gorgoglione (Italy) (short film)
Special Mention
I, Lina - Luana Fanelli (Italy) (short film)

RAI Cinema Channel Prize
Eclissi di Terra - Federico Emilio Cornacchia (Italy) (short film)

Unisalento Prize
Il cielo è perso - Fabrizio Fusco (Italy) (short film)

Mario Verdone Prize
Gloria! [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Margherita Vicario
film profile] - Margherita Vicario (Italy/Switzerland)
Special Mention
Mimì – Prince of Darkness [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Brando De Sica (Italy)

Emidio Greco Prize
Miranda’s Mind - Maddalena Crespi (Italy) (short film)

Cinecittà News Special Mention for the Cinema & Reality Section
L’Ulivo e il Baobab - Serena Porta (Italy)

Lecce Rotary Club Prize
Arte vs Guerra - Bansky and C215 in Borodyanka, Ukraine - Michele Pinto (Italy)

(Translated from Italian)