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The Golden Tower of the 31st European Film Festival Palić goes to “78 Days“ by Emilija Gašić

26.07.2024.

At the final press conference of the 31st European Film Festival Palić, held on July 26, at the Grand Terrace, the winners of several prestigious awards were announced. These include the Golden Tower for Best Film, the Palić Tower for Best Director, Special Mention by the International Jury, Best Film Award and Special Mention in the Parallels and Encounters program, and the FIPRESCI Jury Award for Best Film in the Official Selection program. The awards will be presented at the closing ceremony of the festival.

The international jury of the Official Selection program of the 31st European Film Festival Palić, composed of Bojan Vuletić, director (Serbia), Bettina Brokemper, producer (Germany), and Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson, actress, director, and cultural promoter (Lithuania), awarded the Golden Tower for Best Film of the Official Selection program to “78 Days” by Emilija Gašić.

In their explanation, the jury stated that this is “a film that takes you back to that summer of your childhood that was in the same way beautiful and painful.”

They also noted: “In this story global politics has a big impact on the life of three sisters that have to deal with the absence of their father and world politics crashing in on them. Amazingly directed, acted, shot, and edited, this film touches you through its humor, making you laugh and cry at the same time.”

The Palić Tower for Best Director was awarded to Runar Runarsson for his film “When the Light Breaks”. The award goes to “a film that impressed us not only with superb acting, the suggestive use of image and sound, but also with its portrayal of internal grieving in a complex relationship situation.”

The jury added that this is “a very intimate film that portrays the loss of love in a tender and touching way. With great precision and a minimalistic style, the direction takes your breath away”.

The jury awarded Special Mention to “The Magnet Man” by Gust Van den Berghe, for “the poetic journey in this existential fairytale, where the brilliant lead actor Danny Ronaldo takes us traveling through time and places. Reminding us that we are all unique and that we do not have to resort to conformism in the daylight of today’s circus”.

The international jury composed of David Castellanos, International Seller (Spain), Natalija Avramović, director (Serbia), and Constantinos Nikiforou, producer (Cyprus), has made a unanimous decision to give the Best Film Award in the Parallels and Encounters competition program to the film “Panopticon” by George Sikharulidze.

The jury explained: “A powerful coming-of-age debut film that explores self-discovery in fast pace. A film about sexuality and socio-political and religious issues that lead the protagonist into adulthood.”

Special Mention of the International Parallels and Encounters Jury goes to the film “Bosnian Pot” by Pavo Marinković, for the „timeless and well written human story about immigration and the current political situation in Europe of 2024 in the search for identity”.

The FIPRESCI Jury of the 31st European Film Festival Palić, composed of Bettina Hirsch (Germany), Pierre-Yves Roger (France), and Stojan Sinadinov (North Macedonia), has awarded the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film in the Official Selection to “The Girl with the Needle” by Magnus von Horn. The jury assessed that the director “depicts in a very aesthetic black-and-white the darkness of a society where women were not allowed to make decisions about their bodies,” and added that “the film provokes revealing questions about our humanity even nowadays”.

The Gorki List Audience Award of the 31st European Film Festival Palić was awarded to “78 Days” by Emilija Gašić, which was screened in the Official Selection program. This award allows the audience to take an active role and from their own perspective view the works of film art presented at the festival. In this way, in addition to the opinions of the expert jury, the festival also respects the opinions of its most numerous ‘jury’ – those whose loyalty and dedication to cinema have sustained the festival throughout the years.

The European Film Festival Palić has been supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Provincial Secretariat for Culture, Public Information and Relations with Religious Communities, the City of Subotica, the European Union through the Creative Europe MEDIA program, as well as numerous friends and media partners.