THE BURIED ALIVE VIDEOS by ROEE ROSEN wins the BIEFF 2014 Main Award

Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival BIEFF closed on the 14th of December at CinemaPRO, after 5 intense festival days which welcomed an audience of more than 7,000 people to full house screenings and special events. (Making of)

During the Award Ceremony, BIEFF 2014's Jury members:

• Anne Delseth – Member of the Selection Committee of Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, CANNES Film Festival 
• Theus Zwakhals – Short Film Programmer, International Film Festival ROTTERDAM 
• Jonathan Pouthier – Cinema Programmer, Centre POMPIDOU Paris
• Marion Poeth – Program Manager, CINEDANS - Dance on Screen Festival, Amsterdam
• Ileana Bîrsan - Film Critic and Cinema Educator

decided as follows:

The BIEFF 2014 MAIN AWARD (3,000 EUR offered by the Romanian Cultural Institute) went to the visual artist Roee Rosen, for his daring work THE BURIED ALIVE VIDEOS. The jury motivated its choice as follows: "Through different cinematic styles and with absurd humor, this film deconstructs the myths surrounding Russian political figures and questions the urge and the power of art, especially the avant-garde. Rousing in audiences the critical thinking and healthy skepticism regarding politics, it warns us that a fictionalized past could challenge the real future". 

The BEST DIRECTION AWARD (1,000 EUR in post-production services offered by Abis Studio) went to the Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes for REDEMPTION, "for its poetic use of found footage in a highly political context and its capacity to challenge our expectations by bringing intimacy into universal topics".
 
The BEST VISUAL CONCEPT AWARD (1,500 EUR in post-production services offered by Cinelab Romania) went to the Dutch visual artist Menno Otten for VIA DOLOROSA. "Creating a micro-choreography through his use of close-ups, this eerie yet meditative performative film builds up tension by emphasizing small changes in facial expressions and gestures, which move in and out of the frame in a tantric rhythm" was the Jury's motivation.
 
The BEST ROMANIAN FILM AWARD (1,500 EUR in post-production services offered by Cinelab Romania) went to the visual artist Daniel Djamo for STORM IS COMING. BIEFF Jury Statement: "Dealing with notions of nationality, identity and one's homeland in an intelligent way, this film disrupts and creates tension on several levels. Images are not related to the text in an obvious way. Existing stereotypes are acknowledged, while at the same time new ones are brought to life. A film that does not give decisive solutions and clear answers, but unconsciously and indirectly strikes even harder".
 
The SPECIAL JURY MENTION went to the Polish visual artist Wojciech Bakowski for his work DRY STANDPIPE, "for its singular lucidity of facing the banalities of everyday life and transposing mixed feelings into minimal and sculptural abstract images".
 

The Award Ceremony was followed by the Romanian premiere of Ulrich Seidl’s latest foray into the human psyche – after his ambitious Paradise Trilogy – the unsettling and thought-provoking IN THE BASEMENT, screening possible thanks to the kind support offered by Coproduction Office and the Austrian Cultural Forum in Bucharest.

The Award Ceremony was followed by the Romanian premiere of Ulrich Seidl’s latest foray into the human psyche – after his ambitious Paradise Trilogy – the unsettling and thought-provoking IN THE BASEMENT, screening possible thanks to the kind support offered by Coproduction Office and the Austrian Cultural Forum in Bucharest.
 
During the 5 festival days our audiences enjoyed 5 International Competition theme programs:

as well as a series of special theme programs presented in partnership with several prestigious international film festivals and institutions:

For a complete retrospective of BIEFF 2014's events, we invite you to visit our festival's photo and video galleries on Facebook page. (Catalog)

The 5th edition of Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival BIEFF took place between December 10th–14th, 2014, at CinemaPRO and Elvira Popescu Cinema.
 
BIEFF is honoured and grateful to receive support and inspiration from its partners: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs Cannes, Berlinale Forum Expanded, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Oberhausen Film Festival, IDFA Amsterdam Paradocs, Centre Pompidou, Le Fresnoy - Studio National des Arts Contemporains, CINEDANS - Dance on Screen Festival Amsterdam, Tampere Film Festival, Sixpackfilm Austria and EYE Film Institute Netherlands.
 
BIEFF would not be possible without the support of the Romanian National Cinema Centre, the Romanian Cultural Institute, the National University of Arts Bucharest, the National University of Theatre and Film Bucharest, the French Institute in Bucharest, the Austrian Cultural Forum, Goethe-Institut Bukarest, Czech Centre Bucharest, Balassi Institute, the Italian Cultural Institute "Vito Grasso", the Rule of Law Program South-East Europe of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Embassy of Sweden, Embassy of Finland, Embassy of Israel, Accion Cultural Española, German Films, Dacia, ABIS Studio, NouMax, Cinelab, Lara Zankoul Photography, the National Dance Centre Bucharest CNDB, Galateca, Lente Cafe, La Mama, J'ai Bistrot, Book4travel, Eventbook, Control Club.
 
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