44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ends

The 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ended with the awarding of the Crystal Globes. The Crystal Globe for Best Film went to the Belgian-Canadian film Angel at Sea by director Frdric Dumont. The film focuses on the bitter childhood experience of a boy named Louis who grows up with a beloved though manic-depressive father. The main jury, led by Claudie Ossard, also gave the Special Jury Prize to the Iranian film Twenty by director Abdolreza Kahani. It tells of the employees of a small reception hall who have just twenty days before the establishment closes. Best Director went to Germanys Andreas Dresen for the comedy Whisky with Vodka. His feature employs the film-within-a-film genre to portray an aging actor named Otto forced to contend with a new understudy. Best Actress was taken by the favorite, Denmarks Paprika Steen, for her role in the drama Applause. The actress powerfully evoked the alcoholism of an actress seeking to regain custody of her children. Best Actor was split: Belgian-born actor Olivier Gourmet won for his role as the problematic father of the protagonist in Angel at Sea, and renowned American actor Paul Giamatti won for playing himself in Cold Souls. Special Mention was awarded to 15-year-old Filip Gabacz, who grippingly portrayed a young star pupil who becomes a child prostitute in the Polish film Piggies. The documentary jury awarded Slovak documentarist Marko kop, who scored at the KVIFF three years ago with Other Worlds: this time his film Osadn took Best Documentary. Special Mention went to the American documentary We Live in Public from Ondi Timoner. In the short documentary category (up to 30 minutes), the German-Indian-Pakistani film Wagah won, with Special Mention going to Polands Till It Hurts. The East of the West competition honored the Russian film Room and a Half by Andrey Khrzhanovsky, which tell of the life of poet Joseph Brodsky and his family. Special Mention was given to Polands Scratch by Micha Rosa. The non-statutory awards were conferred in the afternoon. The Audience Award went to the Israeli comedy A Matter of Size. During the gala closing ceremonies, John Malkovich accepted the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema.