Best of the Fests – Winners from Cannes, Rotterdam and Sundance at 013IFF
The 013 International Film Festival (013IFF) once again presents a remarkable selection this year, and it is certainly not one to miss. Major award winners from some of the world’s most prestigious film festivals will be screened during the 013 International Film Festival.
The Best of the Fests section features three internationally acclaimed films: Variations on a Theme, winner of the Tiger Award in Rotterdam; Cutting Through Rocks, winner of the Best International Documentary Award at the Sundance Film Festival; and Fjord, the recent winner of the Palme d’Or in Cannes, one of the most prestigious film awards in the world.
Best of the Fests offers you a unique opportunity to experience these world-class award-winning films at 013IFF, taking place from 20 to 25 October at Cinecitta in Tilburg.
Every festival day, you can watch all three award-winning films back-to-back.
Variations on a Theme – Winner of the Tiger Award
Ouma Hettie is an elderly goat herder who has lived all her life in the Kamiesberge mountains of South Africa. When she is promised compensation for her father’s military service, she becomes entangled in a fraudulent scheme. This disrupts her daily routines and threatens her independence, while the film closely follows her life and the world around her.
Variations on a Theme captures the atmosphere of the small town and the surrounding landscape, with particular attention to the plants, animals and natural environment in which Hettie lives. The documentary portrays a world in which people and landscape are deeply interconnected.
Cutting Through Rocks – Winner of the International Documentary Award at Sundance
43-year-old Sara Shahverdi lives in a remote village in northern Iran. As an independent woman, she is committed to the future of young girls: she encourages them to continue their education, teaches them to ride motorcycles and campaigns against child marriage. But Sara’s fearless and outspoken approach earns her many enemies, particularly among the men in the village.
“You should see yourselves as doctors, teachers, engineers,” Sara tells a classroom of schoolgirls, “so that you have power.” As she encourages the girls to finish their education before considering marriage, the village’s patriarchal society responds with hostility and intimidation. When the very core of Sara’s identity is called into question, she is increasingly forced to fight her battle alone.
Fjord – Winner of the Palme d’Or
The devout Romanian-Norwegian Gheorghiu family settles in a remote village beside a Norwegian fjord. Their children soon become friends with the neighbours’ children, but the peace of the close-knit community is disrupted when Elia Gheorghiu, the family’s daughter, arrives at school with unexplained bruises. The villagers begin to question the strict, traditional upbringing the children receive at home. Fjord is a gripping drama about faith, parenting and responsibility, forcing a community to examine its own beliefs.
With Fjord, Cristian Mungiu delivers another compelling moral drama. The Romanian director previously won the Palme d’Or for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007), and with Fjord adds a second Palme d’Or to his impressive body of work.
