Saturday, July 7, 2012

2012 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival - Award Winners


The 47th edition of the Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) International Film Festival has now come to an end, with the closing awards ceremony held Saturday (July 7) evening in the Grand Hall of the luxurious Thermal Spa Hotel.

The winner of this year's Crystal Globe for Best Feature Film was The Almost Man. A Norwegian film directed by Martin Lund, about a thirty-something man struggling with finally growing up, starring Henrik Rafaelsen, who won the award for Best Actor. Sharing the Best Actor award was Eryk Lubos, for his role in the very intriguing Polish film, To Kill A Beaver.

While the Best Actress award went to Iranian actress Leila Hatami (who many will recognize from last year's Oscar winning Foreign Film A Separation), for her role in the film The Last Step, directed by her husband Ali Mosaffa.

The Best Director trophy went to Canadian director Rafaël Ouellet, for his film Camion. After the success of Rebelle at Berlin and Tribeca, it looks to be another strong year for Canadian film.

American actress Susan Sarandon in attendance to present, Jeff Who Lives At Home, was also honored alongside fellow actress Helen Mirren as this year's recipients of the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema.

The President's Award went to veteran Czech actor Josef Somr. A trophy given to actors, directors, and producers who have contributed fundamentally to the development of film around the world.

The audience of invited guests were then treated to the festival's closing film, To Rome With Love by Woody Allen.

Read on for the full list of award winners from this year's Karlovy Vary IFF:

Grand Prix - Crystal Globe for Best Feature Film
  • The Almost Man (Mer eller mindre mann)
    directed by Martin Lund
    Norway Norway
Special Jury Prize
  • Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy (Romanzo di una strage)
    directed by Marco Tullio Giordana
    Italy Italy
Best Director Award
  • Rafaël Ouellet
    for the film Camion
    Canada Canada
Best Actress Award
  • Leila Hatami
    in the film The Last Step (Peleh akhar)
    directed by Ali Mosaffa
    Iran Iran
Best Actor Award
  • Henrik Rafaelsen
    in the film The Almost Man (Mer eller mindre mann)
    directed by Martin Lund
    Norway Norway
  • Eryk Lubos
    in the film To Kill a Beaver (Zabić bobra)
    directed by Jan Jakub Kolski
    Poland Poland
Special Mention - Best Actor
  • Pavel Liška, Tomáš Matonoha, Marek Daniel , Josef Polášek
    for their roles in the film Polski film
    directed by Marek Najbrt
    Czech Republic Czech Republic
  • Yannis Papadopoulos
    directed by Ektoras Lygizos
    in the film Boy Eating the Bird's Food (To agori troi to fagito tou pouliou)
    Greece Greece
East of the West Award
  • House with a Turret (Dom s bashenkoy)
    directed by Eva Neymann
    Ukraine Ukraine
Special Mention - East of the West
  • Vanishing Waves (Aurora)
    directed by Kristina Buožyté, Bruno Samper
    Lithuania Lithuania, France France, Belgium Belgium
Best Documentary - Under 30 minutes
  • Sofia's Last Ambulance (Poslednata lineika na Sofia)
    directed by Ilian Metev
    Bulgaria Bulgaria, Germany Germany, Croatia Croatia
Best Documentary - Over 30 minutes
  • A Story for the Modlins
    directed by Sergio Oksman
    Spain Spain
Special Mention - Documentary
  • Private Universe (Soukromý vesmir)
    directed by Helena Třeštíková
    Czech Republic Czech Republic
Independent Camera Award
  • Death of a Man in Balkans (Smrt čoveka na Balkanu)
    directed by Miroslav Momčilović
    Serbia Serbia
Audience Award
  • Come As You Are (Hasta la vista)
    directed by Geoffrey Enthoven
    Belgium Belgium
Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema
  • Helen Mirren - Actress
    UK UK
  • Susan Sarandon - Actress
    USA USA
Festival President's Award
  • Josef Somr
    Czech Republic Czech Republic
Europa Cinemas Label Award
  • Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy (Romanzo di una strage)
    directed by Marco Tullio Giordana
    Italy Italy
FIPRESCI Award
  • The Last Step (Peleh Akhar)
    directed by Ali Mosaffa
    Iran Iran
Ecumenical Jury Award
  • Camion
    directed by Rafaël Ouellet
    Canada Canada
Special Mention - Ecumenical Jury
  • Hay Road (Estrada de Palha)
    directed by Rodrigo Areias
    Portugal Portugal, Finland Finland
FEDEORA Award
  • Flower Buds (Poupata)
    directed by Zdeněk Jiráský
    Czech Republic Czech Republic
NETPAC Award
  • Tepenin Ardi (Beyond the Hill)
    directed by Emin Alper
    Turkey Turkey, Greece Greece

A couple other notable tidbits:

Check out this interview with Dario Argento, who presented his latest film Dracula 3D at the festival. I love his broken English response when asked about the upcoming Suspiria remake: "No I don't... I don't like-a it... No I... I don't welcome this. Because I think-a the original is-a good. The second-a... The remake is just do for... To make-a some money. I... I spit on this money!"

Also see the trailer created for the 47th Karlovy Vary IFF below. An amusing tribute to the grandfather of Czech film, Otakar Vávra, who passed away last September at the age of 100.


Over the past few years, the KVIFF has really established a great tradition of humorous trailers (warning: potentially not safe for work language), that I feel deserve greater attention, featuring important Czech directors such as Jiří Menzel, Miloš Forman, and Věra Chytilová as well as internationally renowned actors such as Jude Law, Andy Garcia, and John Malkovich. Check them out.

Which films are you looking forward to seeing? What do you think about the trailers?

12 comments:

The Angry Lurker said...

So many I haven't seen, seeing Killer Joe on Tuesday, that's about the nearest I come to new and different lately....

d_4 said...

This was well written.. I didn't feel over empowered with info. Then again there was probably less to say.
Really digging Dario Argento's interview there. Despite you saying that last line, actually hearing it is so very sweet.

Pete Turner said...

Go on Argento! Tell it how it flipping is!

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Well most of these have just premiered there, so it will be awhile before even I get to see them. As for Killer Joe, I'm actually looking forward to seeing that one too.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thanks. I always try to be concise. And yeah Argento was pretty awesome there. I really hope that remake never gets made.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

I spit on David Gordon Green! Argento should make a schlocky 3D version of George Washington or All the Real Girls...

Michaël Parent said...

NIce overview of the festival. Lots of films look interesting.

Kristina Buožytė said...

VANISHING WAVES on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/VanishingWaves

Alyson said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thanks Michaël.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Congratulations Kristina. I just saw the trailer, and it looks fantastic. Very much looking forward to seeing your film now.

DEZMOND HUNT said...

I'm so glad that Serbia's DEATH OF A MAN AT BALKANS won an award and amazing critical praise.

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