8. Internationales Festival Zeichen der Nacht / Berlin Edition
21th International Festival Signs of the Night / Worldwide
November 1 - 5, 2023
Kino in der Königstadt - - Space : movie members GmbH - Saarbrücker Straße 24 - Berlin Prenzlauer Berg
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Naz Caybasi |
Turkey / 2023 / 0:10:39 |
One day, a girl living in a village sees blood on her panties. She’s having menstruation, but she doesn't know what it is. She hesitates to ask someone and tries to discover on her own. She finally finds an answer, but that answer is only the part of the cycle she’s in.
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Jury Declaration:
In just 10 minutes, and with minimal dialogue, Naz Caybasi conjures a whole universe in this outstanding film. A simple, universal rite of passage story becomes transcendent through its imagery of a wild Turkish mountain landscape, before delivering a deeply emotional — and subtly political — conclusion. Absolutely sublime film-making!
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SIGNS AWARD
The Signs Award honors films, which treat an important subject in an original and convincing way
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Ramazan Kilic |
Turkey / 2023 / 0:16:00 |
A little girl tries to put a smile back on her grandmother’s face after the disappearance of her television, her only window on the world.
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Jury Declaration:
Perfectly balancing a domestic tale with an image of real political repression, Ramazan Kilic's film tells an affecting story that plays subtly on themes of silence and silencing. The resounding effect is a deceptively simple story that is beautifully told.
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NIGHT AWARD
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The Night Award honors films, which are able to balance ambiguity and complexity characterized by enigmatic mysteriousness and subtleness,
which keeps mind and consideration moving
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Abhaal |
Yudhajit Basu |
India / 2022 / 0:06:00 |
In a distant village in the Western Ghats of India where a storm is approaching, a young pregnant Marathi woman is dreaming of making love to her dead lover inside a cowshed.
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Jury Declaration:
Yudhajit Basu delivers an aesthetic masterclass in this impassioned tribute to India's farmers, among whom suicide rates have become increasingly alarming. Powerfully political and yet deeply intimate at the same time, Clouds is a deeply felt, poetic film with astonishing cinematography.
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JURY AWARD FOR DEPICTION OF THE CATHARIC DANCE OF A GREAT SURVIVOR
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Carlos Segundo |
Brazil / 2022 / 0:14:00 |
In Uberlandia, Brazil, Chico earns his living fixing ovens, in which he easily fits into thanks to his small size. Marginalized by a system that values him as a misfit, he begins to start resisting it.
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Jury Declaration:
The Special Jury Prize is awarded to "Big Bang" for the depiction of the cathartic dance of a perennial survivor, and of overcoming. Set against the stigmas that society creates for dwarf humans, and a harrowing back story, the film avoids any potential pleas for sympathy or related sentiments in order to portray strength and inspiration.
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Mrinmoy Sarkar |
India / 2023 / 0:18:24 |
An old retired man, living in an almost deserted housing in Kolkata, feels lonely and suffers from an existential crisis. He seeks meaningful relationships with people around him. He finds a connection with a neighbourhood kid. Both the old man and kid are living in an adverse situation, which lacks compassion and love. The old man saves the kid from an incident of abuse. But he chooses to vanish from this ugly world because the perpetrator continues relationship with the kid’s mother.
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Jury Declaration:
"Broken Wall" receives a Special Mention for the portrayal of subtle human compassion, facing the testing of resolve without hysteria, and the importance of inter-generational communication in a deserted neighbourhood. Furthermore, the innovative visual effect and sound editing makes for a unique and compelling atmosphere.
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Director Statement:
I made the film with an experimental approach to show the inner void and despair of two generations, trapped in abusive human relationships. My intention is to show unexplored realities of neglected people. This special mention is a great recognition of this endeavor.
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MENTION FOR THE SIGNS AWARD
The Signs Award honors films, which treat an important subject in an original and convincing way
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Mémoires du Bois |
Theo Vincent |
France / 2023 / 0:15:55 |
The Bois de Vincennes. The ruins of a colonial exposition building where strange voices and old images slumber that no one wants to revive. Yet Moussa has only one obsession: to keep close to him his friend whose lifeless body has returned to Senegal.
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Jury Declaration:
In a few short scenes, Vincent delivers a multi-layered tale of grief, friendship, colonial memory, and escape, using a striking blend of the prosaic and the unearthly. The combination draws us into a better understanding of the personal, the psychological, and cultural anthropology.
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MENTION FOR THE NIGHT AWARD
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The Night Award honors films, which are able to balance ambiguity and complexity characterized by enigmatic mysteriousness and subtleness,
which keeps mind and consideration moving
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Wa thakarina wa unthana |
Ahmad Alyaseer |
Jordan / 2022 / 0:11:04 |
A father and mother are faced with the painful task of washing their deceased transgender daughter, but when no one agrees to wash her, how far is the father willing to go to make sure his "son" is washed?
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Jury Declaration:
For its simple and incisive prayer: a human being is a human being, and their dignity must be respected in life as in death.
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Director Statement:
Wow, this is absolutely great news, thank you so much, Signs of the Night film festival has been a huge milestone in our film's journey. In a time where war and non acceptance is all over us, winning this beautiful recognition gives us hope, thanks to the jury for this beautiful trophy.
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Competition Short Film, Cinema in Transgression, Documentary - Focus and Thematic programs |
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