Yesterday was the final day of the 64th edition of the Brno16 international short film festival. Brno Daily’s Fernando Galindo reports from four days dedicated to short film, curated by Kino Art. Credit: Brno16.
Brno, 23 Oct (BD) – Brno16 returned this year for its 64th edition. One of the oldest short film festivals in the world, it is a long-standing highlight on Brno’s film festival calendar.
The festival took place simultaneously at four different locations. Kino Art, Studio Marta, Kino CIT and KUMST opened their doors to cinephiles from the afternoon until the end of the day with different activities revolving around short film.
All scheduled movie blocks and presentations were carried out smoothly and on time, and despite the high attendance, no incidents occurred and the overall atmosphere was exceptional, being welcoming and friendly, but at the same time professional and focused. Staff, movie-makers, special guests and the public all had the chance to meet each other and converse, immersed in the experience that assembled them in such a horizontal event.
I myself had the opportunity to raise a question (which I won’t share for the sake of avoiding spoilers) regarding one of the motifs in the Turkish film “In His Fortress” to a member of the project speaking on behalf of Yasemin Demirci, director of the movie, who couldn’t make it to the festival due to transport difficulties.
Reflecting its international nature, all projections included English and Czech subtitles. Most blocks of movies came in packs of four, and were screened with trivia questions in between. Trivia questions were in fact present even in the closing ceremony on Saturday night in the main hall at Kino Art.
The gala closing ceremony, held in Czech with simultaneous translation into English through headsets, included a singing performance and an afterparty accompanied by delicious catering.
It was at this ceremony on Saturday where the host, on behalf of the appointed juries, revealed the three winners of this year’s Brno16. Firstly, the Polish short film “A Dead Marriage” by Michal Toczek received the Audience Award voted by the general public. Later, Marie Jedličková, Alexandra Kubicová, and Kristýna Vodáková, representing the FAV Student Jury, awarded the Spanish film “Once You Pop”.
And last but not least, in the most prestigious award, the members of the International Jury considered “Electra” to be the winning film of the festival for its “amazingly crafted, very strong current topic, homage to old Czech animation masters… combined with questions of the modern world.”
The jury added that the film “analyses our society and our need to belong and be loved, whilst staying thought-provoking. Told from a personal point of view, the film inspects family bonds and charms with striking visuals.”
As for the Czechoslovakia16 Jury Award, director Philippe Kastner accepted the award for his piece “Dede is Dead”.
Brno Daily is proud to be a media partner of the Brno16 festival, which is truly a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the world of short film, get closer to both art and artists, and understand a little better the great work such a genre requires.
