Tehran (NAVID AZAD) – “Signes de Nuit” unveiled the 2021 award winners for the 7th edition of the festival in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Festival International “Signes de Nuit,” Festival Internacional “Signes da Noite” in Lisbon, unveiled the 2021 award winners for the 7th edition of the festival held in Lisbon, Portugal. Festival “Signes de Nuit” opened on December 26 in Lisbon, Portugal and wrapped-up on December 31, 2021.
The Festival International “Signes de Nuit” officially announced the complete list of 2022 award winners on January 7, 2022.
6 short films from Argentina, Colombia, France, Mexico, Germany, USA, Iran and Turkey won awards in the international competition of short films.
The main award of “Signes de Nuit” went to “Surfaces (Superficies)” by Cristina Motta from Argentina, Colombia.
The jury of “Signes de Nuit” awarded “Surfaces (Superficies)” for the following reason: “For its subdued power derived from the gravity of a woman’s voice, and for its charged use of surfaces – water, earth, muck and rubble – as metaphor for the erasure of the memory of victims of violence and enforced disappearances in the geographies of Argentina and Colombia, the Main Award goes to Superficies by Cristina Motta.”
“Surfaces (Superficies)” explores surfaces that honor and surfaces that subvert the destiny of the dead. The acclaimed movie by Cristina Motta has been screened at prestigious film festivals such as “Visions du Réel,” “Uppsala International Shortfilm Festival,” and “Bogota Shortfilm Festival.”
The Sign Award of “Signes de Nuit” went to “Clean With Me (After Dark)” by Gabrielle Stemme from France. The “Signs Award” honors films, which treat an important subject in an original and convincing way.
The jury of “Signes de Nuit” awarded “Clean With Me (After Dark)” with the Sign Award for the following reason: “For her work that locates and examines the continuing struggle of women in the home, and for using an approach that begins as a simple internet research that ultimately transforms into a modern day feminist film, the Signes Award goes to Clean With Me (After Dark) by Gabrielle Stemme.”
In “Clean With Me (After Dark),” hundreds of women are filming themselves cleaning their homes on YouTube. The French short film had received Grand Prix nomination at the 2020 edition of Uppsala International Short Film Festival in Sweden.
The Night Award of “Signes de Nuit” went to “Desert Lights (Luces del desierto)” by Félix Blume from Mexico. “Signes de Nuit” also awarded a special mention to “Phantasmagoria, 1945” by Karl Nussbaum from Germany, USA. The “Night Award” honors films, which are able to balance ambiguity and complexity characterized by enigmatic mysteriousness and subtleness, which keeps mind and consideration moving.
The jury of “Signes de Nuit” awarded “Desert Lights (Luces del desierto)” with the Night Award for the following reason: “For demonstrating how a deep understanding of sound choreographed against overwhelming darkness and a scarcity of light can bend perceptions, and magnify fear, we are unanimous in presenting the Night Award to “Luces Del Desierto” (Desert Lights) by Felix Blume.”
“Desert Lights (Luces del desierto)” is an invitation to open our eyes wide in the twilight, and listen to the sounds hidden in the darkness. The Mexican short film had been screened in Ammodo Tiger Short Competition section of the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2021. “Desert Lights (Luces del desierto)” had received nomination for the best short documentary at the 2021 edition of the Guanajuato International Film Festival in Mexico.
The jury of “Signes de Nuit” awarded a special mention to “Phantasmagoria, 1945” for the following reason: “A hallucinatory and necessary retelling of the infamy and tragedy of Germany’s Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels in the context of a subconsciousness in German culture which can inflame fascism.”
“Phantasmagoria, 1945” is the story told by Nazi Propaganda Minister, joseph goebbels, to his six young children while presenting an after dinner slide show using a magic lantern and glass slides.
The Edward Snowden Award of “Signes de Nuit” went to “The Recess” by Navid Nikkhah Azad from Iran. The Edward Snowden Award honors films, which offer sensitive (mostly) unknown information, facts and phenomenon of eminent importance, for which the festival wishes a wide proliferation in the future.
The jury of “Signes de Nuit” awarded “The Recess” with the Edward Snowden Award for the following reason: “For highlighting the limits of freedoms that women in Iran suffer by framing the story of Sahar Khodayari within an all too ordinary recess period in school, the Edward Snowden Award for Short Film is given to “The Recess” by Navid Nikkhah Azad.”
“The Recess,” inspired by true events, explores gender oppression in Iranian society. The acclaimed movie by Navid Nikkhah Azad has been screened in more than 75 international film festivals including Festival Internacional de Cine de Lebu (Oscar-Qualifying Festival), Alicante Film Festival (Goya Qualifying), Festival de Cine de Cartagena (Spain), Almeria International Film Festival (Spain), Salerno International Film Festival (Italy). This is the 11th international award for “The Recess.”
The statement from Navid Nikkhah Azad, the director of “The Recess,” is published on the “Signes de Nuit” website: “As tragic and heart-breaking the self-immolation and death of Sahar Khodayari is, her departure serves as deep sorrow which penetrates into our hearts and starts living inside our soul. As part of a society, and above all as a human, I can’t stop thinking about the dimensions of this very tragedy, be it social, political or else, it deeply affects our lives down to every core and cell. However, I’d like to think of Blue Girl as an individual soul, with a deep character within. What made me think of it as a subject for a movie, and a serious concern as a filmmaker, was that the truth about Sahar Khodayari, her life story, who she was and what she did, was majorly disrupted by the government and the media. She was made a person with no “past.” So I decided to make this film about “Blue Girl” to give her a “past” she deserved, and to remind the global community “who she was” and “what she did.”
The Jury Award of “Signes de Nuit” went to “A Year in Exile” by Malaz Usta from Turkey. “A Year in Exile” by Malaz Usta won the Jury Award for “Sensitive Encapsulation of Displacement.”
“A Year in Exile” is the story of a lonely and young Syrian immigrant’s first year outside his small country in a metropolitan city, Istanbul. The Turkish short film has been screened in international film festivals such as “Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival,” “Brussels Independent Film Festival,” “Istanbul Film Festival.”
The statement from Malaz Usta, the director of “A Year in Exile,” is published on the “Signes de Nuit” website: “An important aspect of film is its ability to bypass the traditional ways of communication, to reach unexpected places and show us new stories which amplify our sense of connection with the other. I am really glad that my story got the attention that it deserves.”
The 19th edition of the Festival International “Signes de Nuit” (Signs of the Night), 7th Festival Internacional “Signes da Noite” in Lisbon, took place from December 26-31, 2021 in Lisbon, Portugal.
