Awards

Golden Olive Tree “Cristina Soldano Award for Best Film” to “Twelve Thousand” by Nadége Trebal

Special Jury Award ex aequo to “Sister” by Svetla Tsotsorkova and to “Lara” by Jan-Ole Gerster

Best Screenplay Award to Jorunn Myklebust Syversen for his film “Disco”

Best Cinematography Award to Erik Pollumaa and Sten-Johan Lill for “Scandinavian Silence” by M. Helde

SNGCI Award for Best European Actor to Corinna Harfouch for the film “Lara” by Jan-Ole Gerster

Fipresci Award to “La belle indifference” by Kivanc Sezer

Cineuropa Award to “Open Door” by Florenc Papas

Audience Award to “Open Door” by Florenc Papas

Mario Verdone Award to Phaim Bhuiyan for “Bangla”

Emidio Greco Award to “Amateur” by Simone Bozzelli

Puglia Show CNC and Augustus Color Award to “Anche gli uomini hanno fame”
by Gabriele Licchelli, Francesco Lorusso, Andrea Settembrini

Rai Cinema Channel Award to “C’è di mezzo il mare” by Davide Angiuli

CGIL Award for Best Short Film on Labour to “Sottosuolo” by Antonio Abbate

Unisalento Award to “Senza tenere premuto” by Paolo Strippoli

Lecce Rotary Club Award to “The Girl with a Bracelet” by Stèphane Demoustier

Cinecibo in Tour Award to “The food Club” by Barbara Topsøe-Rothenborg

Cinecibo in Tour and Apollonio 150 Award go to Michele Venitucci
for the film “The food Club” by Barbara Topsøe-Rothenborg

The 12 films in competition, selected by the Festival’s director together with Luigi La Monica, were judged
by the Golden Olive Tree Jury, chaired by Katriel Schory and composed by Beatrice Fiorentino, Mathilde
Henrot, Antonio Saura, Mira Staleva, who gave the following awards:

Golden Olive Tree “Cristina Soldano Award” for Best Film to “Twelve Thousand” by Nadége Trebal
(France) “For her first fiction film DOUZE MILLE Nadège Trébal takes the risk to get inspiration from a
variety of different cinematic genres and never letting her film imprisoned in any of these: musical, social
realism, documentary, hedonistic. As the film escapes from these genres, the film and its characters
question what makes a desire vivid.”

Best Screenplay Award to Jorunn Myklebust Syversen for his film “Disco” (Norway) with the following
motivation: “An intense coming-of-age story immersed in the muddy waters of religious extremism, DISCO
sheds light on an ominous and unsettling contemporary phenomenon, swinging to the rhythm of dance
music between faith and vital impulses, between light and darkness”.

Best Cinematography Award to Erik Pollumaa and Sten-Johan Lill for “Scandinavian Silence” by Martti
Helde (Estonia, France, Belgium) with the following motivation: “The film uses black and white photography
to convey at the same time the inner thoughts of the characters and to show an amazing landscape, making
this contrast tell us more about the tragic reality of the characters than the words.”

Special Jury Award ex aequo to “Sister” by Svetla Tsotsorkova (Bulgaria, Qatar) “for the visual and
narrative confidence the director Svetla Tsostsorkova crafted the story of three women surviving in a rural
area, story of little family lies and sisterhood” and to “Lara” by Jan-Ole Gerster (Germany) “for an eloquent
description of a woman and a mother and the complex and emotional relations in sharing with her son the
passion for music”.

The Fipresci Jury composed by Nikos Giakoumelos, Aylin Sayin Gonenc and Ignazio Senatore has awarded
“La belle indifference” by Kivanc Sezer (Turkey, 2019) “The film tells about the economic insecurity
experienced by the new middle class and it carefully captures the dilemmas of our times with amazing
acting and surreal aspects. The film encourages to question white collar peoples life style habits which are in
contradiction with their financial breakdown in the neo-liberal era. More than that, common narrative
patterns are broken for the development of the characters”.

The SNGCI (National Union of Italian Film Journalists) Award given by the members of the Union and by
President Laura Delli Colli to the best European actress/actor goes to Corinna Harfouch for the film “Lara”
by Jan-Ole Gerster (Germany) with the following motivation: In her portrait of a woman who dumps her
(frustrated) personal ambitions above all on her son, Corinna Harfouch provides the protagonist of Jan-Ole
Gersters second film with an interesting performance, full of contradictions but, above all, of meticulous
details. A protagonism that is also to be captured in the nuances of her acting performance.

The SNGCI also awarded a Special Mention to Josefine Pettersen, a cast member of “Disco” by Jorunn
Myklebust Syversen (Norway).
A young actress who, after the teen series Skam, which is also extremely popular in Italy, shows, in Jorunn
Myklebust Syversens film, her ability to play, with a surprising naturalness, an ambivalent role, which she
masters with her confident and interesting performance.
The jury of the Cineuropa Award, composed by Valerio Caruso, has awarded the prize to Open door
(Albania) by Florenc Papas with the following motivation: “Open Door portrays the unmistakable social
aspect of a patriarchal society of a poor country in transition. Papas doesn’t force it beyond the needs of the
screenplay, which is utterly economical. Open Door is brilliantly played by the two actresses. The film shows
rural Albania in a particularly poetic way”.

The Audience Award goes to Open Door (Albania) by Florenc Papas.

The 2020 Mario Verdone Award, eleventh edition, was given by the Verdone siblings to Phaim Bhuiyan for
“Bangla” with the following motivation: It is in Rome, in a suburban and multi-ethnic Rome, that Phaim
Bhuiyan, with Bangla, tries his hand with lightness and originality in a search for himself that tells us about
adolescent upsets and doubts with freshness, but above all with a sometimes even shameless sincerity that
becomes pure humour. His case of conscience about pre-marital sex, forbidden by religion even to a Muslim
who speaks a lot of Roman dialect, turns into a Pigneto neighbourhood’s version of Bollywood, and his “love
rallies”, with roots in Pakistan, have their heart in Torpignattara.

The eighth Emidio Greco Award, whose selection committee is composed by: Jacopo Chessa, Lia Furxi,
Alberto La Monica, was awarded by the jury composed by the Greco family to “Amateur” by Simone
Bozzelli with the following motivation: For its ability to develop a believable, topical and engaging story
within the limited running time of a short film, for the natural acting of the two young protagonists and for
the accurate and precise direction, which never lingers in angles or cheap solutions, the eighth Emidio Greco
Award goes to Amateur by Simone Bozzelli, wishing the young director to keep coming up with stories and
characters that can talk about our contemporary time without artifice.

The jury of the Puglia Show section, composed by Eugenie Bottereau, Francesca Manno and Giulio
Mastromauro, has given the CNC-National Short Film Centre Award and the Augustus Color Award, to
“Anche gli uomini hanno fame” by Gabriele Licchelli, Francesco Lorusso, Andrea Settembrini, with the
following motivation: “A sincere and passionate testimony that, with an intimate gaze, travels through
memory, between past and present, looking into a daily life that links places and protagonists together and
becomes poetry”.

Special Mention to “Mia sorella” by Saverio Cappiello.

The Rai Cinema Channel 3000 Euro Prize was given by the jury composed by Maria Federica Lo Jacono and
Manuela Rima to “C’è di mezzo il mare” by Davide Angiuli with the following motivation: “With its short
running time, the film is incisive and direct, as it highlights two opposite feelings that are its driving force,
light-heartedness and fear in the face of the same thing: the sea, which, along the horizon, drags with it
destinies that have never been chosen. From a seafront promenade where, under umbrellas, every kind of
goodies are eaten, to Libya, the journey has never been so short and intense”.

The Unisalento Award, awarded by the jury composed by the students of the Cineclub Universitario
(University Film Club), an activity for the promotion and study of audiovisual culture established by the
Interdepartmental Research Centre in Digital Humanities of the University of Salento and supported by
Apulia Film Commission Foundation, goes to “Senza tenere premuto” by Paolo Strippoli with the
following motivation: For its stylistic and technical innovation, able to transcend the medium and keep the
attention high for the entire duration of the short film. We give it credit for succeeding in showing how easy
it can be to lose control of the image of one’s own character, telling a story full of details, until reaching a
surreal climax, which is prey to the cynical dynamics of the daily and unstoppable usage of the medium.

Special Mention to “Stranger” by Antonio Stea, because, in just a few minutes, it was able to display its
technical, stylistic and intellectual search, using two different languages, a cultured/ refined one and a
simple/ immediate one, with carefully designed scenery and special sound effects. Borrowing elements from
the videogame world, the film generates a symbolism that highlights the human being and his or her
sacredness, leaving the door open to free interpretation.

The CGIL Puglia Award for best short film on labour was given by the jury composed by Pino Gesmundo
(Secretary General of Cgil Puglia) to “Sottosuolo” by Antonio Abbate with the following motivation:
Because of the themes it deals with, which focus on labour and people’s rights and dignity. The fight against
the illegal gangmaster system, one of the many battles taken up by Cgil, is here represented in one of its
multiple facets referring to the unacceptable blackmail that forces people to choose between work and
health. The same one that caused Paola Clemente to die of fatigue and exploitation in the fields for a wage
of two euros an hour. The message we want to convey through this cinematic work is that we need to fight
for rights and legality to triumph without compromise. Only in this way will exploitation cease to exist and
only in this way will our children be able to believe that a better world really is possible if we fight every day
to achieve it.

For the second consecutive year, the Festival del Cinema Europeo has held the Lecce Rotary Club Award,
established together with Lecce Rotary Club, with the aim to award one of the films screened at the
Festival that, because of its themes and narrative form, is particularly close to the mission of this
humanitarian association: serving others, promoting integrity and international understanding. The Lecce
Rotary Club Award goes to “The Girl with a Bracelet” by Stèphane Demoustier which suggestively portrays
a world of restless adolescents. Rotary Club has made attention to young people one of the cornerstones of
its global service by investing energy in programmes that involve the younger generation within Rotary
values and provide opportunities for development to understand the importance of friendship among
peoples, international understanding, and the development of personal leadership in the service of others.
Lecce Rotary Club Special Mention to the film “Heart wood”, for the sensitivity and delicacy with which it
highlighted the search for our identities through love for the land and our roots.

The Cinecibo in tour Award, awarded by Donato Ciociola, goes to “The food club” by Barbara Topsøe-
Rothenborg with the following motivation: For the cheerful spirit with which it follows the three
protagonists in their rediscovery of life, underlining the values of conviviality and hospitality linked to the
culture of food and Italian tradition.

The Cinecibo in Tour Award is also awarded to actor Michele Venitucci for the film by Barbara Topsøe-
Rothenborg “The food Club”, in which he sketches, with sympathy and accuracy, the portrait of the
welcoming chef Alessandro, capable of conveying the values of Italian tradition and cuisine.
Apollonio 150 Award goes to Michele Venitucci who, following his roots, relates a food and wine journey
through the excellence of the Apulian land. An assonance with Apollonio Winery, which, thanks to the
passion and farsightedness of its protagonists, has crossed the milestone of its 150 th  year of life.