The Russel Tribunal, by Staffan Lamm, a documentary short from Sweden took home the grand prix at the 23rd Uppsala International Short Film Festival. The film is documentary footage of the 1967 Russel Tribunal which took the United States government to task for atrocities against Vietnam civilians during the Vietnam War. The tribune consisted of artists and activists such as Jean Paul Satre, Simone De Beauvoir, Stokely Carmichael, author Sara Lidman from Sweden, and dramatist and filmmaker Peter Weiss from Sweden. The voiceover by Lamm retells the history, but also evokes an eerie reminder that this footage from the tribubal has been never seen, as if it is looking at us 35 years later.

23rd Uppsala International Film Festival
International Jury motivations
Anne-Marie Söhrman Fermelin, Paolo Manera, Romain Roll, Hajo Schomerus, Moira Sullivan

Uppsala Grand Prix
The Russel Tribunal, Staffan Lamm (Sweden 2003)
A film of contemporary relevance, overwhelming in its actuality, that powerfully connects past and present atrocities with simplicity and honest emotion, reminding us of the strength of cinema as a document of memory, witness and political statement.

Special Prize of the Jury
Exoticore, Nicolas Provost (Belgium 2004)
Told with a cutting edge style of visual and dramatic structure, an odyssey through multicultural society with its alienation and prejudices that powerfully unleashes reflection.

Ryan, Chris Landreth (Canada 2004)
On the borders of documentary, animation and science fiction, a film with a unique and extraordinary visual approach that is a touching tribute to an animation legend and a deep and bittersweet reflection on life, obsession and abuse.

Honorable Mention
Marsa Abu Galawa, Gerard Holthius (Netherlands 2004)
A refreshing explosion of pulsating colours, shapes and sounds that transforms the underwater world of the Red Sea into a surprising aquatic musical.

Haravyi, (Sunrise) Yannis Katsamboulas (Greece 2003)
Set in an impressive surrounding of the destructive forces of modernization, a timeless and sensitive story of human struggle for the preservation and transformation of identity and roots.


BEST CHILDREN'S FILM BY UPPSALA YOUTH JURY

THE TOOTH Nathan Stone Australia 2003.
Xeno is living on a planet far away and his tooth is really hurting. He just has to get it out, but it is stuck so he has to use all of his imagination.


BEST NORDIC FILM
YOU WERE THERE WITH YOUR FRIEND FRANK Johannes Stjärne Nilsson, Sweden 2004.

In a magazine for teenagers from 1980 under the heading "Wanted", Annelie Olsson is looking for Jörgen, whom she met at a rock concert with Gyllene Tider in Karlshamn, Sweden. Twenty-four years have passed.

Moira Sullivan