Paola, a young nun, comes to Argentina to a nunnery home for single teenage mothers. Lu, one of them, leaves home and child. Through the experience of pregnancy Maura Delpero tells us an intense story of women connected to conditions of sexuality, love, care and raising children. The director gives a deep, loving look into a conflicting microcosm. The film is rich with multi layered aspects of truth, through several voices. With high aesthetic competence Delpero’s film resonates socially, politically and spiritually, raising urgent universal moral questions.
72nd Locarno Festival
07.08.2019 to 17.08.2019
Locarno
Ecumenical Jury Locarno 2019 (photo: Ingrid Glatz)
At the Locarno Film Festival 2019 the juries have chosen their winners. The Ecumenical Jury awarded its prize to "Maternal" by Maura Delpero, which is endowed with 20,000 CHF. The prize money donated by the Reformed Churches and the Catholic Church in Switzerland is intended for the Swiss distribution of the film. The film also received a Special Mention of the International Festival Jury.
A Commendation of the Ecumenical Jury won "Vitalina Valera" by Pedro Costa from Portugal. His film was the big winner of the festival. He received the Golden Leopard from the International Festival jury and another Leopard for Best Actress, Vitalina Valera, who plays herself. Other prizes went to "Pa-go" (The Height of the Wave) by Park Jung-bum from South Korea (Special Jury Prize) and to Damien Manivel for the French competition entry "Les enfants d'Isadoro" (Best Director). The Fipresci-Prize of the International Film Critics Jury was awarded to "A Febre" by Maya Da-Rin.
The feature film debut of Italian director Ginevra Elkann, "Magari", opened the 72nd Locarno Film Festival on the Piazza Grande. It was the first festival under the direction of Lili Hinstin, who succeeds Carlo Chatrian, who has been appointed to Berlin. Hinstin announced that she wants to preserve the profile of the festival, which is characterized by the accent on cinematic discoveries, but also to set new accents. In addition to the directors known for their stylistic idiosyncrasy, such as Pedro Costa (Portugal), Ulrich Köhler (Germany) and Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche (France), the 17 international films include discoveries such as the first feature film by the Brazilian Maya Da-Rin, "A Febre" (The Fever), which previously created documentaries and video installations in the German production Komplizenfilm, or Basil da Cunha, who represents Switzerland with his second feature film" O fim do mundo "(The End of the World).
Link: Festival website
Awards
Directed by:
2019
Directed by:
2019
Beyond its high aesthetic quality, Pedro Costa’s feature film, »Vitalina Varela« has the ability to stimulate thorough theological discussions on the dialectic character of faith by innovative use of darkness and light. Through the spiritual journey of an abandoned woman and a priest with an empty church, the film raises the audience consciousness of the transcendent dimensions of life. It also expresses respect for human dignity, the need of reconciliation and solidarity with minorities at a more universal level.
