14 August, 2024
On Saturday evening at the Lumbardhi Open Air Cinema in Prizren, DokuFest unveiled the winners of its 23rd edition. In front of a packed audience of guests, jury members, sponsors, and partners, the best films in the competition categories were revealed. In addition to this a number of other awards were also given, including the Audience Award.
Over nine days, the festival presented 249 films, hosted 12 performances, 9 exhibitions, 7 discussions, 3 masterclasses, and 9 workshops across 8 cinemas and improvised venues throughout the city, including at the ITP premises.
Best Balkan Dox was awarded to Albanian filmmaker Eneos Çarka for his film Another Day. Other awards included Best International Feature and Short Dox, Human Rights and Green Dox, Best Short and Best National Film, Best Truth Dox and Audience Award.
In addressing the challenge of international film distribution for Kosovo-produced films, DokuFest continued its collaboration with Radiator IP Sales. This partnership allows films in the National Competition to be considered for international distribution. Mr. Ben Bekke Vandendaele from Radiator IP Sales announced the winner of this year's Distribution Award which was reMemBer2.human by Durim Klaiqi.
The Kosovo Cinematography Centre awarded the Talent Doc Award for the second year in a row, aiming to encourage and empower documentary filmmakers from Kosovo. The jury for the National Competition selected the recipient of this award, which includes a prize of 2,000 Euros. Ilir Hasanaj’s Workers’ Wings picked up the award.
This year, 10 films were in the running for Audience Award, which was traditionally sponsored by ProCredit Bank, DokuFest’s longest and most trusted sponsor spanning 20 years. In gratitude of this support Ms. Linda Llulla Gashi, Executive Director of DokuFest, extended a special thanks to ProCredit Bank before the winner was announced. After counting all the ballots, the film Afterwar by Birgitte Stæermose was revealed as the winner of Audience Award.
Additionally, DokuFest nominated the winner of the International Shorts Award The Death Of A Hero by Karin Franz Körlof, as DokuFest’s candidate for the European Short Film Award.
Thanks to the support from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, and the Kosovo Cinematography Centre, the monetary prize of the National Competition Award was increased to 3,500 Euros. The jury selected Norika Sefa’s short film Like a Sick Yellow as a winner of the National Competition. Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Mr. Hajrulla Çeku took the stage to announce the winner and to deliver the trophy to Norika Sefa.
The event concluded with the national premiere of "RRUGËS" by Samir Karahoda, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and was recently selected for the Toronto International Film Festival.
Below is the full list of award-winning films for this edition:
Award Recipients:
* Distribution Award - Winner: reMemBer2.human by Durim Klaiqi
* Talent Doc Award - Winner: Workers’ Wings by Ilir Hasanaj
* Audience Award - Winner: Afterwar by Birgitte Stærmose
* Green Dox Competition - Winner: Apple Cider Vinegar by Sofie Benoot
* Green Dox Competition – Special Mention: Lichens Are the Way by Ondřej Vavrečka
* Truth Dox Competition: - Winner: 23 Mile by Mitch McCabe
* Human Rights Dox Competition - Winner: Silence of Reason by Kumjana Novakova
* International Shorts Competition - Winner: The Death of a Hero by Karin Franz Körlof
* International Shorts Competition – Special Mention: Dreams Like Paper Boats by Samuel Suffren
* International Short Dox Competition- Winner: History is Written at Night by Alejandro Alonso Estrella
* International Feature Dox Competition - Winner: A Fidai Film by Kamal Aljafari
* International Feature Dox Competition - Special Mention: What Did You Dream Last Night, Parajanov? by Faraz Fesharaki
* Balkan Dox Competition - Winner: Another Day by Eneos Çarka
* Balkan Dox Competition - Special Mention: Stray Bodies by Elina Psykou
* National Competition - Winner: Like a Sick Yellow by Norika Sefa
