Fifth Edition of the DEA OPEN AIR International Film Festival
Saranda, Albania – 2018
The Fifth Edition of the DEA OPEN AIR International Film Festival concluded successfully this weekend in Saranda. The traditional gala awards ceremony was held for the second time at the Bougainville tourist resort complex, one of the main supporters of DEA OPEN AIR 2018.
Present at the official awards ceremony were filmmakers, actors, and directors from Europe and around the world, as well as personalities from culture and business, artists from various artistic disciplines, diplomats, media representatives, students, friends, and supporters of the festival.
This year’s festival program once again revealed a rich diversity of cultures, styles, and artistic individualities. Festival Director Edmond Topi stated that, “In a time marked by so much violence and arbitrariness, culture remains the only peace and way out… and its distinguished contributors are the only true spiritual leaders. That is why it is so important that we spread and promote it.”
For the Artistic Director of the festival, Mirela Oktrova, “organizing a film festival means much more than drafting a list of films and filmmakers, finding a venue, and securing financial resources. Organizing a film festival means, above all, defining the dimension where film and filmmakers meet society and the trace they will leave in its culture. At the foundation of this festival has been the belief that culture does not gain legitimacy through conformism, but through social responsibility: not by adapting to conditions, but by seeing itself as a promoter of social development.”
The festival was also greeted by former Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Albania, Hellmut Hoffmann, honorary guest of this edition. He referred to the importance of such events in strengthening intercultural exchanges, the diversity of artistic contributions in this edition, the large number of participating authors, the audience’s interest in discussions following the screenings, the quality of the film selection, and the importance of the event for the country’s image and for the cultural offer of a tourist city such as Saranda.
Following the opening remarks, the festival’s three juries announced their decisions.
In the Short Film Section, 31 films competed in two subcategories: the international competition and the student competition. The selected films reflected a broad geographical diversity and explored themes such as dreams and depression, freedom and security, relationships, corruption, dignity, fanaticism, and human relations under extraordinary circumstances.
The Short Film Jury, composed of Dominik Streib, Kimete Berisha, and Eliodor Markja, awarded the following prizes:
DEA Cup for Best Idea (RTV21 Award) went to “Disaster” – Belgium, 2017, directed by Séverine De Streyker and Maxime Feyers.
DEA Cup for Best Editing was awarded to the film “Our Own” – France, 2017, directed by Dominique Preusse.
DEA Cup for Best Director went to Jules Comes for the film “Saint Hubert” – Germany/Belgium, 2017.
DEA Cup for Best Short Film was awarded to “Talia” by Toni Bestard – Spain, 2017.
The growing number of applicants to DEA OPEN AIR was confirmed again this year. More than 1,000 short and feature films from over 60 countries applied through FilmFreeway, Festhome, or direct submissions, giving the festival a distinctly intercontinental character.
After the preliminary selection process, six feature films from Albania, Germany, Spain, Russia, Portugal, and Switzerland entered the official Feature Film Competition. The selected works explored themes including old age and social position, happiness and dignity, the individual’s relationship with the self and society, and the pursuit of a better life.
The Feature Film Jury, composed of Clemens Erbach, Isabelle Welter, Rusomir Bogdanovski, Genc Përmeti, and Luan Kryeziu, awarded the following prizes:
DEA Cup for Best Screenplay in a Feature Film went to Luis Diogo for the screenplay of “Sublime Life” – Portugal, 2018.
DEA Cup for Best Cinematography in a Feature Film was awarded to cinematographers Ilya Kondratiev, Dmitry Polyakov, and Alexei Galkin for the photography of “Lost Reflection” – Russian Federation, 2018.
DEA Cup for Best Actor in a Feature Film was awarded to Swiss actor Christoph Jungmann for the film “Untangle Your Life” – Switzerland/Germany, 2018.
DEA Cup for Best Director in a Feature Film was awarded to German director Steffen Hacker for the film “Temperament” – Germany, 2018.
DEA Cup for Best Feature Film went to “Empty and Sterile Sea” – Spain, 2018, directed by Lucas Parnes and Jesús Serna.
The festival traditionally also presents the Media Award, recognizing films for their civic engagement and their role in raising awareness about important social issues.
The Media Jury, composed of Ylli Sula, Kamuran Goranci, and Eda Merepeza, awarded two prizes:
Special Media Award in the Short Film Competition went to “The Day Goes, Morning Comes” by Lina Eržen – Slovenia, 2017.
Special Media Award in the Feature Film Competition went to “Sublime Life” by Luis Diogo – Portugal, 2018.
As part of its effort to bring audiences closer to cinema, DEA also presented the Saranda Audience Award, which this year went to “Pola” by Edyta Rembala – Poland, 2017, and was presented by Thoma Nika, Director of Public Relations at the Municipality of Saranda.
Since 15 student films also competed in the short film category, a jury composed of students from the Mediterranean University evaluated them for the DEA Award for Best Student Film. This year, the university expanded its support for young filmmakers by accompanying the Student Jury Award with a financial grant of 1,000 Euros.
The Student Jury Award was presented to “The Last Respect” by Reut Dagbar Agami – Israel, 2018.
The DEA Recognition Award for distinguished contribution to cinema was posthumously awarded this year to makeup artist Liljana Tesho.
DEA HOMAGE, awarded in honor of artistic achievement and in mourning for a great loss, went to the talented cinematographer Leonard Qëndro.
The Fifth Edition of DEA OPEN AIR International Film Festival was supported by the Ministry of Culture of Albania, the National Center of Cinematography, and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports of Kosovo, which together with the Municipality of Saranda created a welcoming atmosphere for artistic contributions and civic engagement from around the world.
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