Monisme, directed by Riar Rizaldi, wins the BIEFF.13 Grand Prize

The 13th edition of the Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival (BIEFF) ended on Sunday, October 1, with the award ceremony of the best avant-garde films presented this year in the three competitive sections. Monisme, the debut of director Riar Rizaldi, present in Bucharest during the first days of the festival, was named the winner of the BIEFF 2023 Grand Prize, worth 20,000 euros, consisting of post-production services offered by Avanpost.

The way in which the film combines myths, science, reality and fantasy impressed the jury made up at this edition of Nuria Cubas – co-founder and director of the FILMADRID International Festival, Daniella Shreir – founder and co-editor of the film magazine Another Gaze, and researcher, curator and writer Julian Ross. Along with the other films awarded on Sunday night, the feature film enjoyed a second screening during the festival, organized at Cinema Union.

“Edition number 13 was really lucky for our festival”, emphasized Oana Furdea, BIEFF manager, at the closing gala on Sunday evening. In 2023, BIEFF ticked off several premieres and records: the first author retrospective, dedicated to Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Costa, special guest in Bucharest, record number of spectators, films screened and events organized. The enthusiasm of the spectators towards the films and the discussions scheduled this year demonstrates an increasing interest of the Bucharest public for experimental film.

BIEFF 2023 awards

International Feature Film Competition

Best Feature Film – Postproduction services in the amount of 20.000 EUR offered by AVANPOST:

Monisme, d.  Riar Rizaldi (Indonesia, Qatar, 2023, 115 min.)

National Short Film Competition

Best Romanian Film – offered by UCIN:

Flying Sheep, d. Alexandra Gulea (Romania, Germany, 2022, 24 min.)

Special Mention of the Jury for the Best Romanian Visual Concept – postproduction services in the amount of 1000 EUR offered by LUNO:

A flat is born, d. Cristina Iliescu (Romania, 2023, 15 min.)

International Short Film Competition

Best International Short Film, offered by UCIN:

Gods of the supermarket, d. Alberto Gonzalez Morales (Switzerland, 2022, 8 min.)

Best director:

Catarina Vasconcelos, for Nocturne for a forest (Portugal, 2023, 16 min.)

Best Visual Concept:

Ardent Other, d. Alice Brygo (France, 2023, 16 min.)

Special mention:

Slimane, d. Carlos Pereira (Germany, 2023, 19 min.)