Filmmakers from Serbia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, and Bosnia in the lead, followed by audience favorite from Turkey

Presentation of the SEEfest 2016 awards took place on May 5 at the Ahrya Fine Arts theater in Beverly Hills. Earlier in the week the Legacy Award was presented to the great Serbian actress Mirjana Karanovic for her entire body of work in cinema, in support of human rights, and her work with students and young actors.

SEEfest 2016 Jury Awards:

Best Feature Film, Grand Jury Prize - Bridging the Borders Award went to the Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian co-production A Good Wife, directorial debut by veteran Serbian actress Mirjana Karanovic, who also bagged an award for Best First Film. Dealing with a sensitive subject of war crimes, the film tells the story of an everyday woman confronting the truth about her husband’s war time secrets.

Special Jury Mention in this category was given to Bulgarian charmer Losers about a group of irresistibly  funny adolescents in a provincial town, by another veteran actor-turned director, Ivaylo Hristov.

Best Documentary Film: Logbook_Serbistan, by veteran Serbian director Želimir Žilnik, a clear-eye view of everyday life of migrants from North Africa and the Middle East adapting to their new, temporary sojourn in Serbia. The film also won audience vote for Best Documentary.

Best Cinematography, Feature Film: Babai, Kosovo-Germany co-production, Cinematographer: Matteo Cocco, Italy, whose lens beautifully captured the turbulent world of a boy from Kosovo setting on a trek across perilous borders to reunite with his emotionally distant father in Germany.

Best Cinematography, Documentary Film: The Fog of Srebrenica (Bosnia/UK), by Scotland-based director/cinematographer Samir Mehanovic, for the powerful visual treatment of a difficult subject.

Three Special Jury Mentions, for First Feature, Documentary Film, and Best Cinematography in a Documentary Film:  Holy Cow from Azerbaijan, a unique hybrid in the 2016 festival line up, a humorous and gently satirical tale by director Imam Hasanov.

Best Short Fiction: Shok (Kosovo/UK), Director: Jamie Donoughue, nominated for 2016 Academy Award®.

Best Short Documentary: The Unidentified (Serbia), Directors: Nemanja Babic and Marija Ristic. 

Audience Award for Best Feature Film: The Half (Turkey), from first-time director Çağıl Nurhak Aydoğdu, handily won the audience hearts with a touching and humorous, unusual and surprising romance.

Awards for Projects in Development:

#SEEme YouTube Video Contest for Young Filmmakers: 
Winner: Vasileios Sofikitis, from Greece, for the short video “Just Sea It”

For full press release on 2016 Awards go to Press page

>Hi-Res Image Gallery for Download<

SEEfest 2016 presented 12 features, 13 documentaries and 19 short films over 8 days, most of them North American and West Coast premieres to an audience of filmmakers and international art house aficionados, industry professionals and cultural dignitaries from Los Angeles and South East Europe.