Romanian movie gets FIPRESCI prize at Karlovy Vary film festival. Other 2 Romanian films receive special mentions

“Box” movie directed by Romanian Florin Serban was awarded FIPRESCI title at the 50^th edition of Karlovy Vary film festival held in the Czech Republic July 3-11. “The Magic Mountain” by Anca Damian and “The world is mine” by Nicolae Constantin Tanase received special mentions during the same festival.

After the huge success of his previous production “If I want to whistle, I whistle”, director Florin Serban brings a new drama. “Box” is a French-German-Romanian production. Shot on 35mm, the drama follows the budding relationship between an ambitious gypsy teen, who is starting on the boxing circuit, and an older, married actress who is searching for her lost balance.

The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) awarded Florin Serban for “a movie brilliantly directed about the Romanian contemporary society”.

Anca Damian is one of the two female directors in the official competitions, next to Eva Neymann (“Song of Songs”).

“The Magic Mountain” is a Romanian-French-Polish production and is part of a trilogy on heroism, along with “Crulic –the path to beyond” animated biographical film released in 2011, which tells the story of a Romanian inmate who dies in Poland’s prison while on hunger strike. The film was awarded 25 prizes and took part in an impressive number of foreign film festivals.

Made in a postmodern style, comprising various visual techniques, paper offcuts, animation, photography and film, “The Magic Mountain” is telling the real story of Polish Adam Jacek Winkler, politically refuged to Paris. His story is of “a roving knight”, a kind of “Don Quijote of the 20^th century” who wants to change the world, even at the risk of jeopardizing his own life.

As for “The World is mine” it got the special mention of the East of the West section. The film tells the story of 16-year-old Larisa who lives in a small coast town in a social environment where image and wealth are offering power on the others.

The big prize of Karlovy Vary festival, The Cristal Globe went to US “Bob and the Trees” by Diego Ongaro. The acting prizes went to Alena Mihulová for her part in “Home Care” that also marked the directing debut of Slávek Horák and to Kryštof Hádek for the part in “The Snake Brothers”, directed by Jan Prušinovský.