Lucca Film Festival 2022 Final Awards

From September 23rd to October 2nd, 2022, one of the most relevant Italian cultural events took place in Lucca: the Lucca Film Festival, organised with the contribution of Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca. The juries gave the awards to the films that participated in the different competitions, divided as usual into short films and feature films. Among the new features introduced last year, we find the press jury, made up of press and communication experts who gave the “Marcello Petrozziello” award, dedicated to the late homonymous well-known journalist and great communicator from Lucca. Petrozziello was Press Office and External Relationships coordinator for Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca.

Concerning the feature films, the jury, made up of Nina Nerli Taviani, Claudio Cupellini, David Riondino, and Andrea Sartoretti, gave the Best Feature Film Award, with a value of 3,000 euros, to:

• Yamabuki by Juichiro Yamasaki
  For the following reason: Just like the Yamabuki flower grows in the shadow and is often unseen, so are the protagonists’ stories, told with affection and from a clear political point of view. The characters are people who live in the shadow and have to bloom among the rocks to find the good in life.

The jury also gave three Honourable Mentions:

• Best Actor to Luis Machín in Seven Dogs by Rodrigo Guerrero
  For the following reason: An astonishing performance that one cannot but feel empathy with. The protagonist is the soul of the building, able to intertwine the lives of all the people around him.
• Best Actress to Teresa Sánchez in Dos Estaciones by Pablo González
  For the following reason: For the monumental and magnetic presence of an actress not only interpreting a character but her whole community.
• Best screenplay to Sick of Myself by Kristoffer Borgli
  For the following reason: The screenplay perfectly depicts exasperated narcissism – an incredibly relevant theme in current times – by diving into its incoherencies and dangers.

Concerning the short films, the jury, made up of film critic Filippo Mazzarella, actress Carlotta Natoli, screenwriter Michele Pellegrini and storyboard artist Liesbet Van Loon, gave the Best Film Award to:

• K-Saram by Alisa Berger

The jury also gave an Honourable Mention to:

• The Captured by Rongqi Huang

The Press Jury gave the Marcello Petrozziello Award for the Best Film to:

• Remains Of The Wind – Traces by Tiago Guedes
  For the following reason: For the elegant directing work, for the obscure, evocative, and powerful photography, perfectly in line with the Portuguese town and its inhabitants. For the ability to effectively represent, also through the use of language, the spiritual essence of evil which, paraphrasing the title of the film, touches us just like a blow of wind, making us its slaves. For the poetic character of Laureano, a reject, an outcast, and a savage like many others in many places of the world. And finally for the theme of violence, unfortunately ever-present in our society.

The Marcello Petrozziello Award for the Best Short Film went to:

• K-Saram by Alisa Berger

The People’s Choice Award for the Best Feature Film went to:

• Tropic of Violence by Manuel Schapira
  For the following reason: For the clear observation of a dramatic existential condition, for the importance the film takes on in creating and calling everyone’s attention. Finally, for the political and human relevance of a work that creates a universal discussion by observing a micro-reality.

The People’s Choice Award for the Best Short Film went to:

• We had each other by Kelly Gallagher

The Students Jury Award for the Best Feature Film was given to:

• Sick of Myself by Kristoffer Borgli
  For the following reason: For the bitter lightness the film uses to represent the grotesque characters in our society, for the intimate and intense atmosphere that pervades the story, and for the sharp humanity of the plot.

The Students Jury Award for the Best Short Film was given to:

• Dafne Is gone by Giulia Gonella

The 500-euro Films for our Future Award for the Best Film went to:

• When the mill hill trees spoke to me by Kirsikka Paakkinen

Great cinema artists walked the 2022 Lucca Film Festival red carpet, a festival which featured Lifetime Achievement Awards and Homages, screenings, and masterclasses. For the first time this year, the Festival gave the Dante Alighieri Cinema Award, obtained by Welsh director, screenwriter, editor, painter, and writer Peter Greenaway. The three Lifetime Achievement Awards went to Argentinian director, screenwriter, editor, and producer Gaspar Noé, to costume designer Lina Nerli Taviani and to director and screenwriter Paolo Virzì. The brand-new Sguardo Senza Confini Award was given to Oscar-winning director and screenwriter Giuseppe Tornatore. Finally, the Rivelazione dell’Anno Award went to actress Denise Capezza and the Settima Musa Award, coordinated together with the association Donne All’Ultimo, went to director Saskia Boddeke.

PHOTOS