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WACC and Cinema
Films have universal appeal. They are a form of democratic communication in which – in the words of André Bazin – the film-maker is a story-teller, 'the equal of the novelist'. Films tell stories of struggles, endeavours, achievements and failures. They explore relationships and identities – and reveal what it is to be human. |  | WACC partners with the Protestant film organisation INTERFILM and its Roman Catholic counterpart SIGNIS to provide Ecumenical Film Juries at international festivals. WACC and SIGNIS also make an annual award to a film or documentary dealing with human rights. |
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Berlin 2013 |
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At the 63rd International Film Festival Berlin, held 7-17 February 2013, the Ecumenical Jury awarded its Prize in the Competition to the film Gloria (still above) directed by Sebastián Lelio (Chile/Spain, 2012) for its refreshing and contagious plea that life is a celebration to which we are all invited, regardless of age or condition, and that its complexities only add to the challenge to live it in full.
The Ecumenical Jury awarded its Prize in the Panorama to the film The Act of Killing directed by Joshua Oppenheimer (Denmark/Norway/Great Britain, 2012). This deeply unsettling film exposes the evil mass murders which took place in Indonesia in 1965 and reveals the monstrosity of these crimes. It re-opens a deep wound with the conviction that it is worthwhile to unearth such atrocities.
The Ecumenical Jury awarded its Prize in the Forum to the film Krugovi (Circles)directed by Srdan Golubović (Serbia/Germany/France/Slovenia/Croatia, 2013) for its compelling presentation of the human capacity to overcome seemingly invincible prejudices, and to achieve healing through reconciliation.
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Venice 2012 |
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The INTERFILM Jury at the International Film Festival Venice 2012 has chosen as winner of the 2nd INTERFILM Award for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue the film Wadjda directed by Haifaa Al Mansour (Saudi Arabia/Germany 2012).
Citation: "Ten years old Wadjda living with her mother in the suburbs of Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, wants to ride a bike. While everyone regards her wish as a scandal since it is not allowed to girls, Wadjda fights for her dream, even if she has to win the Coran reciting contest. Stubborn, witty, and beautiful in her integrity, Wadjda is the rising heroine of the new 'women's liberation movement' in her country. We therefore give the INTERFILM Award for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue to Haifaa Al Mansour, first female filmmaker in Saudi Arabia."
The INTERFILM Jury at the International Film Festival Venice 2012 has chosen as winner of the 2nd INTERFILM Award for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue the film Wadjda directed by Haifaa Al Mansour (Saudi Arabia/Germany 2012).
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| Citation: "Ten years old Wadjda living with her mother in the suburbs of Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, wants to ride a bike. While everyone regards her wish as a scandal since it is not allowed to girls, Wadjda fights for her dream, even if she has to win the Koran reciting contest. Stubborn, witty, and beautiful in her integrity, Wadjda is the rising heroine of the new 'women's liberation movement' in her country. We therefore give the INTERFILM Award for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue to Haifaa Al Mansour, first female filmmaker in Saudi Arabia." |
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Berlin 2012 |
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The Ecumenical Jury at this year's Berlinale awarded its prize in the International Competition to Cesare deve morire (Caesar Must Die) directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani (Italy, 2011). "In the world of prison life the power of freedom through art superbly is manifested by inmates of maximum security re-enacting Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Their gripping discoveries of character similarities arouse compassion for the human condition." |
| The Jury awarded a Commendation to Rebelle (War Witch) directed by Kim Nguyen (Canada, 2012). "The horror of a young girl’s life when taken from her village by rebels to be trained as a child soldier is depicted by scenes of Congo warfare softened by the sweet innocence of a youthful love. Komona, the girl and war witch, escapes this existence to provide a message of redeeming hope." |
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In the Panorama section, the Jury gave its prize to Die Wand (The Wall) directed by Julian Roman Pölsler (Austria/Germany, 2011). "The film tells the story of a woman mysteriously trapped inside transparent walls near an alpine cabin which shut her off from human companionship and require physical labour to survive. The film’s original and atmospheric cinematography accompanies an intense solo performance by Martina Gedeck. Through her care for animals and a solitary immersion in nature she moves beyond chaotic self-preoccupation towards a liberating though sober understanding of love as a unifying and humanizing power." |
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Montreal 2011 |
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| The Ecumenical Jury at the 2011 World Film Festival Montreal awarded its Prize to David (still, right), directed by Joel Fendelman (USA). The citation read, "David, a Muslim child living in Brooklyn, New York, finds himself in a Jewish School. Through the story, we are transported with finesse and sensitivity to the heart of a social problem: the coexistence between religious and cultural communities." |
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Hasta la Vista, directed by Geoffrey Enthoven (Belgium), described by the Montreal Gazette as "not your average coming-of-age comedy", received a Commendation. The film also won the Grand Prix des Amériques and the Public Award for most popular film. The Jury notes, "Three young friends, each with a different disability, organize a dream trip. Through daily difficulties and sometimes comical happenings, the director offers a new perspective on the challenges and limitations of their situations and of the open-mindedness of their families and immediate circle." |
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Locarno 2011 |
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At the 64th Locarno Film Festival (3-13 August), the Ecumenical Jury of SIGNIS and INTERFILM awarded its Prize to the film Vol spécial, directed by Fernand Melgar (Switzerland, 2011). "In his touching and authentic documentary Fernand Melgar leads the audience into the Frambois detention center where ordinary people never go and where hopes and fears of different men culminate. Guards as well as detainees act humanly under inhuman conditions, so the spectator is enabled to see them all as individuals with a family, religion and their own dignity, lacking only justice." |
| The Jury awarded a Commendation to the film Onder ons, directed by Marco van Geffen (Netherlands, 2011). "Done with considerable craftsmanship this film shows us that the subtle xenophobia of western people, often covered only by a thin layer of cultural conventions, distracts from the fact, that violence and lack of communication are generic issues of the clean and 'well organized' suburbs." |
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The Jury awarded a second Commendation to the film Abrir puertas y ventanas, directed by Milagros Mumenthaler (Argentina / Switzerland, 2011). "Three different orphan sisters left alone in a beautiful house full of past memories have to cope with becoming an adult. Evoking a dense atmosphere, Mumenthaler shows that there are various, sometimes painful, ways to becoming an individual and that although memory guides us to accept the present, one still has doors and windows to open." |
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Staff ContactPhilip Lee Related Items
WACC-SIGNIS Human Rights Award 2010
SIGNIS-WACC Human Rights Award 2009
'Colima' - Documentary from El Salvador 2009
WACC-SIGNIS Human Rights Award 2008
SIGNIS-WACC Human Rights Award 2007
Celebrating Cinema Media Development 1/2005
Can Movies Be a Moral Compass?
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