The fiction short film Da-Dzma by Jaro Minne

(Georgia/Belgium, 2019) wins the Ermanno Olmi Award

The fiction short film Da-Dzma (A Sister and a Brother, Georgia/Belgium, 2019) by Jaro Minne wins the first edition of the Ermanno Olmi Award, an event aiming to promote short films by young directors.

Runner-up is the documentary Nacht Ueber Kepler 425b (Night over Kepler 452b, Germany 2019) by Ben Voit, and the third place goes to the animated documentary Inside me (Germany 2019) by Maria Trigo Teixeira. A special mention goes to Fame (Hunger, Italy 2019), a fiction short film by Luca Buzzi Reschini. The three winners, selected among close to 100 contestants, are respectively awarded a cash prize of € 1,200, € 500 and € 300.

The motivations of the jury - whose members are Fabio Olmi (director of photography), Maurizio Zaccaro (director, film producer and screenwriter), Paola Suardi (communication consultant), Angelo Signorelli (artistic director of Bergamo Film Meeting) and Adriano Piccardi (editor-in-chief of the "Cineforum" magazine) are the following. First place to Da Dzma «for its essential yet meaningful cinematography. The sorrow of separation and the strength of family ties are portrayed in a social context where emigrating is the result of economic and existential insecurity».

Second place to Nacht Ueber Kepler 425b for portraying «through editing, framing and staging, the relationship among people and the context in which they exist. Between realism and expressionism, the spectator experiences the discomfort and sense of marginalization of a night among the homeless». Third place to Inside me «for the fluidity of style, synthesis of content and writing that describe with great immediacy the dramatic experience of a difficult choice».

Unanimous special mention to Fame «where the minimalism of narrative and staging serve to portray the longing for self-realization. Rap and hip hop are the gateway to escape a suffocating daily routine».

During the evening, the four finalist works of the competition were screened and Ermanno Olmi was honoured with a screening of the film Il mestiere delle armi (The Profession of Arms, Italy, 2001) - recently restored by the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia-Cineteca Nazionale and by the Istituto Luce-Cinecittà, and presented in competition in Cannes 2001 - which recounts the last days of life of mercenary captain Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, who died at the age of 28 in 1526. Written by Ermanno Olmi and exquisitely cinematographed by his son Fabio, the film was awarded 9 David di Donatello and 3 Nastri di argento.

The Ermanno Olmi Award is promoted by the City of Bergamo with the support of FIC – Federazione Italiana Cineforum and in collaboration with Bergamo Film Meeting Onlus and Fondazione MIA – Congregazione Misericordia Maggiore Bergamo.

In accord with the Minimum Environmental Criteria - parameters of environmental sustainability for cultural events - signed by the Municipality of Bergamo, the first edition of the award takes part to the experimental European Green Fest project: a commitment to both environment and culture, and a fitting tribute to Ermanno Olmi who, through his works, was always a keen supporter of environmental preservation.

Ermanno Olmi Prize 2019 – 1^st Edition

1^st PRIZE

Da-Dzma/A sister and a brother [t.l.]

by Jaro Minne, Georgia/Belgium, 2019, 15’, fiction

A small and remote village in Georgia, in winter. A fifteen-year-old girl tries to get closer to her older brother just when he decides to leave home to look for work abroad.

2^nd PRIZE

Nacht Ueber Kepler 452b/Night over Kepler 452b [t.l.]

by Ben Voit, Germany, 2019, 14’, documentary

The cold season has started and many people, as they're looking for a warm place, can't remember the last time they slept in a bed. Fragments of conversation become collective thoughts and somewhere, far away, the exoplanet Kepler 452b is orbiting around a sun definitely warmer than ours.

3^rd PRIZE

Inside me [t.l.]

by Maria Trigo Teixeira, Germany, 2019, 5’, animation/documentary

A final decision accompanied by mixed feelings. A young woman remembers her abortion experience, in a desperate dance of black lines that simulate the alternation between joy and pain of an unforgiving situation.

SPECIAL MENTION:

Fame/Hunger
by Luca Buzzi Reschini, Italia 2019, 11’, fiction

There's a kind of hunger that cannot be satiated: the hunger of those who must create a future from scratch. For Omar, hip hop is not just a passion but an opportunity to turn an unfortunate existence into an incredible story.