La Casa, The New Greatness and Continuum VR win IDFA Forum awards

25 noviembre, 2021

By Business Doc Europe
November 24, 2021

The IDFA Forum Awards were announced Nov 24 with Bettina Perut and Iván Osnovikoff’s project La Casa winning the IDFA Forum Award for Best Pitch, Anna Shishova-Bogolubova’s The New Greatness picking up the IDFA Forum Award for Best Rough Cut, while the DocLab Forum Award went to Continuum VR by Daniela Maldonado, Tomas Espinosa, and Paula Gempeler. Each award includes a cash prize of €1500.

“The award goes to a project that presents a unique perspective of an isolated space in a multifaceted form with nuanced sensory perception, though diverse visual and sound elements. The seclusion becomes a background for exploration of the many layers of relationships—with one another, the nature, the neighborhood, and the current social and political context of the contemporary world,” said the jury (Jorge Caballero Ramos and Zane Balčus) on awarding Best Pitch to La Casa, co-produced by the co-directors’ own company Perut + Osnovikoff Ltd. and Germany’s Dirk Manthey Film.

About The New Greatness, a co-production between Russia’s Ethnofund, Finland’s IV Films, Norway’s Piraya Film AS, and Croatia’s Nukleus Film, the jury said: “The award goes to a project that represents the personal struggle of individuals against repressive power. Through closely observing the characters, the film becomes not just a testimony of events, but turns into an important tool to speak up and disclose the injustice and violation of human rights.”

Finally, the IDFA DocLab Forum jury, consisting of Anna Desponds, Luke W. Moody, and Monique Simard, said that it was difficult to select one project to support and that they hope all the pitching projects find new energy and financing through the Forum.

“The project we would like to commend is one that centers on creative collaboration and celebrates lives that continue to be marginalized and denied. Through the presence and communion of VR, the project Continuum shows much potential to change perspectives, and we hope this support can elevate their performative ambitions in future creative exhibition.”

Continuum VR is a co-production between Colombia’s Aroa Studio and France’s CANVAR.