The 15th edition of the IDFF CRONOGRAF has announced its winners.

The International Documentary Film Festival CRONOGRAF 2019 nominated last night the winners of its 15th edition during the festival’s closing Gala. The Grand Prix and the CRONOGRAF Trophy were awarded to the documentary “Women with Gunpowder Earrings,” directed by Reza Farahmand from Iran. This award, in the value € 2500, was granted by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

In the words of the Main Section Jury members, “This is a courageous and sensitive film about a perspective on war that we haven’t seen before. Our jury felt that, for the first time, we could see that a woman’s response to war is something men could learn from. We also admired that the subject of the film and the filmmaker chose compassion and understanding over objectivity. We see in this film how men create wars, but we understand that it’s women who can create peace.”

During the festival’s closing Gala, winners were nominated in all the five sections of the competition: Main Section/Feature-length and Shorts, CadRO Section, Local Productions Section, Eyes on Moldova Sections, and the Section A Like for the Documentary.

In the Main Section, Feature-length category, the following prizes were also awarded:

The Prize for Best Director was given to the documentary “Timebox” by Nora Agapi, Romania. The jury felt that, as a director, Nora managed to tell the story about her relationship with her father by combining many styles of filmmaking into one: personal, historical and observational. She had the difficult task of becoming both subject and object and managed to direct a film with an intimate atmosphere, while keeping distance and not allowing the outside world to interfere in that space. She used the devoted and claustrophobic relationship with her father—the keeper of the visual history of their city—to generously share with viewers an opportunity to discover him as an artist. Her father is a humble man who cannot stop collecting memories and now the director is keeping his legacy alive with this film. The award was granted by the National Center for Cinematography from the Republic of Moldova.

The Prize for Best Image was awarded to the same documentary, “Timebox,” under the cinematography of Nora Agapi, Romania. The jury felt that we were deep in this film by the atmosphere Nora created in this space.  Inside the room, inside the apartment, inside the building, the mood and the subject she filmed feel intimate and integrated. Time stops in this room, much like a preservationist who tries to hold onto history. It’s clear that Nora has inherited her father’s artistic eye, but she has created a new visual voice that we look forward to following in the future. The award was granted by Moldcinema.

The Special Prize of the Jury was awarded to the documentary “My Unknown Soldier” by Anny Kryvenko (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Latvia) and was the contribution of TV5MONDE. The jury members noted: “In times of war, soldiers have no names. In this film, not only does the soldier lack a name, but he has also been erased from his family’s history because of shame and guilt. The jury felt that this historical and personal film about the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia—seen from the perspective of the occupier—is also about the historical trauma passed down to the descendants of a Russian soldier. Usually, we see films about the occupied people and their suffering. In this film, we see the extremely humanized perspective of the occupier.”

The Audience Award was granted after all the spectators’ votes were tallied, and it went to the documentary “Women with Gunpowder Earrings,” directed by Reza Farahmand,Iran.

Main Section Shorts:

The award for the best documentary short in the Main Section was given to the film “Roosenberg,” directed by Ingel Vaikla (Belgium), for the sensitive and profound way in which she builds a poem essay, a relationship between the cinema aesthetics, philosophical pursuit and emotional quest, and for the courage to experiment with visual language and create a meditation about the soul of space and the passage of time. The prize was offered by OWH Studio.

The special mention in this category was offered to the documentary “Happy Today,” directed by Giulio Tonincelli (France, Italy), for the intelligent and genuine approach to the harsh moments of life, avoiding bathos and managing to express via its colorful imagery the poetics of place. The film creates the moving and cinematically sensual portrait of a young midwife from Uganda, a brilliant and extraordinary presence.

The Local Productions Section:

First Prize and Trophy in the Local Productions Section were awarded to the documentary “The Cliffs of the Prut River and the Stone Quarries,” directed by Victor Găluşcă. The jury has appreciated the topic’s importance, brought to attention by masterfully using the tools of documentary film. We hope this film will draw attention to the irrational exploitation of natural resources.

The Second Prize was given to the documentary “Lost Between Words” by Vera Belocrîs for the courage to be different in a society constrained by sometimes anti-human limitations. A film with an original visual style that tells a personal story, while sheding a light on the problems of a society lost among populist slogans.

The Third Prize was given to “Dnistrovska,” directed by Andrei Moraru, for a film that shows the beauty of the river Dniester and how barbarously it has been treated. The film, though referring only to the Dniester, manages to leave the riverbed and overflow the entire planetary ocean.

A special mention in this category was awarded to the production “Dorina and the Security,” directed by Eugenia Creţu, for the tenacity and courage of guiding Dorina, in the footsteps of “the Securitate,” through the difficult labyrinth of memory. A documentary that makes us believe that not evrything is lost. The awards for this section were provided by: the Culture Directorate of the Chisinau City Hall, the Stil-Tur Agency and the Youth Generation Association.

The CadRO Section, supported by the Ministry for Romanians Abroad:

The First Prize and the Trophy at the CadRO Section were awarded to the documentary “Licu—a Romanian Story,” directed by Ana Dumitrescu, Romania, for a film that through its harmonious editing, music, and archival material, has transposed us into Licu’s world. The prize was awarded by the Filmmakers Union of Romania.

The Second Prize was granted to the documentary “Gentle Roots,” directed by Florin Andreescu, Romania, for the merit of bringing to the audience’s attention a part of the genuine Bucovina in an authentic, warm documentary. The prize, in memory of the filmmaker Victor Bucătaru, was offered by his son, Sorin Bucătaru.

The Third Prize at the CadRO Section was given to the documentary “When the Boats Changed into Barbed Wire,” directed by Gabriele Baiardi, Romania. The documentary has succeeded in bringing authenticity to the screen, backed up by splendid images, landscapes that unfortunately still separate us. The prize was offered by the Filmmakers Union of Moldova.

The special mention at the CadRO Section was given to the documentary “Gheorghe Bucur and the Communist Happiness,” directed by Paul Palencsar, Romania. Because a man went chest to chest with communism and the director knew how to tell his story in a convincing manner, masterfully using the cinematic tools.

In the Eyes on Moldova Section, the prizes were offered by the German Cultural Center Akzente in the amount of 10,000 lei:

The Prize Eyes on Moldova was awarded to the documentary “Moldovan Miracle,” directed by Stian Indervoll, for the complexity with which the film builds the story of the establishment in Chisinau of a center for people with serious sight deficiencies, mostly children, by the Norwegian optometrist Hans Bjorn Bakketeig. The documentary follows with discretion and compassion the dynamics of two seemingly incongruous characters, who make a perfect team in the exhausting struggle with the obtuse, incompetent, and corrupt local authorities. The director has the merit of having succeeded in assessing and understanding a local situation remote from his own culture, and making a radiography of the state of a society mired in a tortuous and endless transition.

Special mention was given to the documentary “TrabiGo—Holiday Where No One Goes: Moldova,” directed by Falk Müller, for the playful and innocent way in which he shares with his audience the joy of discovery, the congenial sensitivity of his encounters, and the luminous humor with which he regards an often less than enchanting reality. Fulfilled and inventive, the film gains extra liveliness through simple, succinct animation that complements the picturesque imagery.

The Prize of A Like for the Documentary Section was given to the documentary “Antique Shop,” directed by Mihai Nichiforeac, Moldova. The prize was given for a complex topic, with a message to be considered by the younger generations from Moldova. The shape of the documentary was appreciated for merging successfully the image and dialogue with music and action. The prize, worth 10,000 lei, was awarded by StarNet.

The 15th edition of the IDFF CRONOGRAF took place in Chișinău between May 22-28, 2019.

The IDFF CRONOGRAF 2019 was organized by OWH Studio with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the National Center for Cinematography in the Republic of Moldova, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, the Ministry for Romanians Abroad, the Chisinau City Hall, TV5MONDE, the German Cultural Center Akzente, and other partners. Renault was the official car of the IDFF CRONOGRAF 2019.

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The IDFF CRONOGRAF, the biggest cinema event in the country and a landmark on the Eastern European Festival itinerary, has been organized by OWH Studio since 2001.

Keep your eyes on CRONOGRAF—the screen where REALITY becomes ART!