European Film Promotion and the Arab Cinema Center have revealed the final three nominees for the fifth edition of the Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films after the jury viewed 25 films from as many European countries in the shortlist.
Due to the postponement of this year’s edition of the Cairo Film Festival, which hosted the awards ceremony in previous years, the announcement of the winning film will take place during the sixth edition of the El Gouna Film Festival, which is scheduled to run from Dec. 14-21.
The nominated films are Serbia’s “Lost Country” by Vladimir Perišić — winner of the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the best actor award at the Sarajevo Film Festival; Finland’s “Fallen Leaves” by Aki Kaurismäki — winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival; and Italy’s “Io Capitano” by Matteo Garrone — winner of four awards at the Venice Film Festival, including the Silver Lion Award for best director, La Pellicola d’Oro Award for production design, and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for best rising actor.
In a joint statement, executive director and co-founder of the El Gouna Film Festival Amr Mansi, and film critic and El Gouna festival programmer Andrew Mohsen said: “With ‘Fallen Leaves,’ the multi-award-winning master of Finnish cinema Aki Kaurismäki decided to write a story about the themes through which humanity might have a future: the longing for love, solidarity, hope, and respect for other people, nature and anything living or dead.”
The tragicomedy is the fourth part of Kaurismäki’s working-class trilogy (“Shadows in Paradise,” “Ariel” and “The Match Factory Girl”). It tells the story of two lonely people who meet each other by chance in the Helsinki night and then lose touch. They must try to find the first, only, and ultimate love of their lives. “Fallen Leaves” is five times nominated for the European Film Awards and Finland’s entry for the 96th Academy Awards.
“Io Capitano” tells the story of the adventurous journey of Seydou and Moussa, two young men who leave Dakar to make their way to Europe. It is a contemporary Odyssey through the dangers of the desert, the horrors of the detention centers in Libya and the perils of the sea. The film has been nominated twice for the European Film Awards and is Italy’s entry for the 96th Academy Awards.
In “Lost Country,” Perišić paints a nuanced portrait of Serbian adolescents in Belgrade in the mid-90s torn between family ties and a burgeoning political consciousness. After rumors of possible election fraud, students demonstrate on the streets against the Milosević regime. While his friends support the demonstrators, 15-year-old Stefan hesitates to take a political stand: His mother is the government’s press spokesperson. The conflicting loyalties increasingly drive Stefan into isolation.
The Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films aims to promote European cinema in the Arab world and attract the attention of distributors and decision-makers in the Arab film industry to outstanding European films.
The jury for the Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films consisted of 85 critics from 15 Arab countries.
