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The Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF), which takes place from 13 to 23 October in Riga and online throughout Latvia, has announced this year\u2019s winners at the annual Awards Ceremony! Films in six competition sections were presided over by an international jury that gave out the festival\u2019s awards, which include being put forward as a candidate for the European Film Academy’s (EFA) European Short Film 2023 Award, the European Children’s Film Association (ECFA) Award that guarantees a nomination for the ECFA Best European Children’s Film of the Year, and the LTV Children’s Jury Award.<\/p>\n
Icelandic director Hlynur P\u00e1lmason\u2019s Godland<\/i><\/a> has been chosen as the winner of the RIGA IFF Feature Film Competition. The jury motivated their decision, describing the film as “a multi-layered cinematic experience that constantly evolves and interacts with the audience\u2019s expectations”. The winner will receive a cash prize of 4,000 EUR, as well as the festival\u2019s main award, the Golden Rooster. The jury gave a special mention to Signe Baumane’s animated feature film My Love Affair with Marriage<\/i><\/a>, which had its national premiere at the festival, describing it as “a creative work full of detail, sincerity, and self-irony”.<\/p>\n The main prize in the International Short Film Competition went to French director Francesco Montagner\u2019s short film Asteri\u00f3n<\/i><\/a>, which received a 2,000 EUR cash prize. The jury said that this work “breaks preconceived ideas about modern cinema, while at the same time acquiring a timeless quality through its beautiful visuals, substance, and innovative editing”. The film has now become a candidate to be shortlisted for the European Film Academy\u2019s prestigious European Short Film 2023 Award. The jury also gave a special mention to French filmmaker Johanna Caraire\u2019s Sardine<\/i><\/a>, which tells the story of “three strong women with different values and ideals who are nevertheless able to get along and support one another”.<\/p>\n The winner of the RIGA IFF National Short Film Competition is Anna Ansone’s Can’t Help Myself<\/i><\/a>, “a hypnotic tale told from the female gaze, in which we want to highlight the subtle sense humour and unexpected plot twists”. The filmmaker will receive a cash prize of 1,000 EUR.<\/p>\n The festival\u2019s family section KIDS’ REEL was judged by two teams of experts: the ECFA jury and a children’s jury. The ECFA jury\u2019s award guarantees that the film receives a nomination for the ECFA Best European Children\u2019s Film Award. This year, the award goes to Swedish director Sanna Lenken’s Comedy Queen<\/i><\/a>, “a story that offers a strong message of resilience and finding oneself”. The jury selected Piret Sigus\u2019 and Silja Saarepuu\u2019s The Turnip<\/i><\/a> as the winner in the KIDS’ REEL Short Film Competition, describing it as “a new take on a classic fairy tale”.<\/p>\n The RIGA IFF Children’s Jury has named the animated film Yuku and the Himalayan Flower<\/i><\/a> by French filmmakers Arnaud Demuynck and R\u00e9mi Durin as their favourite film. This film will be screened on Latvian television after the festival in cooperation with LTV.<\/p>\n The award in the Baltic Music Video Competition goes to the video for the song “Ne daiktai”<\/i><\/a> by Jonas \u0160arkus and D\u017eiugas Babenskas, which “impresses with its untamed nature that comes across even through its formal setting”. The creators received a prize worth 1,000 EUR. The jury gave a special mention to the video for the song “Sunshine Cake”<\/i><\/a> by the artist Synaesthesis, directed by Kristijonas Dirs\u0117.<\/p>\n The winner of the SHORT RIGA Test Screenings and the recipient of the BB Posthouse prize of post-production services worth 3,000 EUR, was Oleksandr Kosiak’s documentary The Sun Shines, But Doesn’t Heat<\/i><\/a>.<\/p>\n RIGA IFF also presented a Lifetime Achievement Award. This year, the award goes to Juris Zviedris and A\u012bda Zviedre for running the cinema K Suns for 30 years, thus nurturing Riga’s art house and avant-garde cinema landscape. The award was presented by M\u0101rti\u0146\u0161 Sta\u0137is, the Mayor of Riga.<\/p>\n