Sunday, October 28, 2007

2nd Cinema Rome Film Festival Awards Winners



Here are the winners of the film awards.

CINEMA 2007

Marco Aurelio Award -Best Film: JUNO by Jason Reitman, USA, 2007. This film evoked a variety of emotions amongst the Jury and the reception of this was tangible in the theatre. Juno is about a teenage girl coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy who deals with the situation in her own special way. The role of Juno is aptly played by Ellen Page who along with ensemble cast presents the witty and interesting script with conviction.

Special Jury Award: HAFEZ by Abolfaz Jalili, Iran/Japan, 2007. This film's mythical core endeared it to the Jury with its innovative use of storytelling. Poetry, rhythm and symbols reveal the duality of love within the film for God and for the community. Hafez pits human strength against tradition fanaticism which connects strongly to current political and religious issues.

Marco Aurelio Award - Best Actress: Jiang Wenli for he role in LI CHUN (AND THE SPRING COMES) by Gu Chang-wei, China, 2007. Her extraordinary ability as an actress allows her to subsume completely herself into the role. She portrays a woman coming to terms with a locked-in, suffocating reality who doesn't allow herself to be overwhelmed by it. The character of Wang Cailing suffers as a frustrated artist who has the courage to follow a different path. Jiang Wenli carries the movie at every stage with a true sense of elegance and charm.

Marco Aurelio Award - Best Actor: Rade Šerbedžija for his role in FUGITIVE PIECES by Jeremy Podeswa, Canada/Greece, 2007. The Jury is honored to give this prize to an extraordinary actor coming from a troubled region in Europe. His character shows great kindness to a young boy, despite the obvious risk to himself. It is this brave act that sets the film in motion. Rade plays this role in a believable and sensitive fashion with his character at the centre of his wellrounded film.

Alice In The City

K12 Prize for Best Film: CANVAS by Joseph Greco, USA, 2006. This is a film you cannot watch and forget right away. It goes right to the heart with its portrait of the strength and determination of a family in fighting the mother's illness. The courage of the director, who has based the film on his own childhood, is simply unbelievable.

Young Adult Prize for Best Film: NOONBUSHIN NARAE (MEET MR. DADDY) by Kwang Su Park. South Korea, 2007. A moving and far from predictable portrait of the ability to love, beyond family bonds. Thanks to the extraordinary performance of the cast, the film proves how the hope for a brand new life can be born from the greatest grief.

Collateral Prizes

FASTWEB Prize for the Première section: INTO THE WILD by Sean Penn, USA, 2007
Special mention for GIORNI E NUVOLE (DAYS AND CLOUDS) by Silvio Soldini, Italy, 2007

L.A.R.A. (Libera Associazione Rappresentanza di Artisti) Prize for Best Italian Performer: GIUSEPPE BATTISTON for his role in LA GIUSTA DISTANZA (THE RIGHT DISTANCE) by Carlo Mazzacurati, Italy, 2007

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