THE GAZE OF THE OTHER AWARD
The films presented in the International Competition and in the Italian Competition contribute to the Award "The gaze of the other: the challenge of dialogue between cultures and religions" awarded by the Sangalli Institute for the History and Religious Cultures of Florence.
SPECIAL MENTION “THE GAZE OF THE OTHER”
PENTCHO
by Stefano Cattini (Italy, UK, 2018)
Motivation: "because this year it's the 80th anniversary of the shameful Italian racial laws, and eighty years later, that shame seems to all of us Italians still very close, and indelible. Accompanying, as the film does, a group of Jews from Central Europe on a long river and a hostile but life-saving sea, to an obscure village in Calabria, does not compensate for the shame or repair the damage, but sends out the signal that solidarity, friendship, and love are, now and then, the only ways to salvation against racism, hatred, ferocity
THE GAZE OF THE OTHER AWARD
SRBENKA
by Nebojsa Slijepcevic (Croatia, 2018)
"Being Italian, French, German, Slovenian, Serbian, Croatian, or Jewish, Christian, Muslim, makes sense, differences do exist and must be valued. To be 'European', and, more importantly, human beings, must have a meaning too. The more or less peaceful coexistence between different ethnic groups and religions has always been a fact in mankind's history, a reality. In this film, a recent 'national' and European drama is reflected in the bewildered eyes of a girl who involuntarily carries on her shoulders the weight of a tragic past. In a game of mirrors she seems to identify herself with a girl of her own age who was killed thirty years before. But shouldn't we clearly say that a murdered teenager is neither Serbian nor Croatian, neither Italian nor French, but simply shameful for humanity?"