JURY REPORT IBFF 2010

The jury of the 10th and final edition of International Bunker Film Festival had a great time, watching the competition program. The three of us, Catherine Henegan, Machteld van Gelder and Hans Beerekamp, enjoyed the variety of genres and ambitions, which made it difficult to make comparisons: 'appels en peren' as the Dutch say.
All the same we agreed surprisingly often. Only two Italian fims, 'To North East' by Milo Adami and Luca Scivoletto and 'I Know There's A Man' by Gianclaudio Cappai really split the appreciation. Since there was no unanimity, both films did not make it to the list of three nominations. And if we had seen 'Suburb Within' by Pekka Sassi along with the positive reaction of the audience, we might have been more sympathetic towards its minimalistic and funny qualities.
Even more so, because we decided to go for radical and pure cinema, probably the best way to define worthiness of a Golden Olive. Each of the three nominated films reflects that spirit of independence and pureness, presenting a kind of imagery. that we had never seen before.

The three nominated films are, in alphabetical order:

ARSY VERSY by Miro Remo (Slovakia), a well-crafted and original documentary which may be more true than real. It deals with nostalgia for analog images in a digital area and the fairytale-ike universe of rural Middle Europe.

AVACA by Gustavo Rosa de Moura (Brazil). A simple and effective slaughterhouse story, told backwards. There is almost a happy ending, but fortunately it does not bring back the protagonist back to life.

HYMN OF A REPUBLIC by Jeong-yoon Ahn (South Korea/The Netherlands). What could be more basic and universal than this one take approach to an invasion of the eye? It is shocking and gentle, tender and cruel, a modern echo of Bunuels ʻUn chien andalouʼ.

The winner of the Golden Olive of the 10th IBFF is HYMN OF A REPUBLIC.


GOLDEN OLIVE SELECTION 2009

The 9th edition of the International Bunker Film Festival closed August 6th with a smashing party in full moon.
At the Award Ceremony the Jury, consisting of Simone van Dusseldorp, Constant Dullaart and Tommy Palotta stated as follows:

"After many long discussions during the days of this festival, the Jury had a tough but pleasurable time to decide upon the winner of this years Golden Olive. The discussion centered around three films, two were very notable, but one in particular stood out unanimously.
The first nominated runner up is "INTOXICANT"
New dialects in language are developing through online fora, chat boxes and on websites as we speak. To be able to translate these dialects to a more traditional, static medium and craft, is a challenging task which this nominated film has made to look easy. The absurdity that the makers found in representing the world wide web on celluloid, combined with a tiny love story and an educational story on identity theft, leaves us with a beautiful short movie that captures the spirit of these times in an almost kafka-esk way. The other nominated runner up is Christopher Rainer for Walrus.
In one long shot we see a man in a bar receiving a telephone call. He walks out of the image but we hear the phone conversation. As soon as he hangs up the phone we continue to hear the people on the other side of the conversation in the soundtrack, but still see the bar. Seeing and hearing these two locations parallel, we are confronted with the emotional impact of the phone call on both locations. The clear and compact form of this short movie, illustrates effectively the powerlessness of the obsessed and frustrated man. Therefor the Jury wants to encourage the filmmaker with this award to make new movies, and send in to the festival again next year. The conclusion of this years jury is that;
Rarely do you see a film that is well crafted, has something to say, and is full of the heart. The way the film handles the subject matter says more about the dissolution of relationships and the effect on the people around it than many feature films with higher budgets and much longer running times. Everyone on the jury was moved by the honest and brave portrayal of Luca, the young subject of the film. Ester Gould's command of the medium with a universal message and a perfect subject make this film remarkable. This years Golden Olive, kindly sponsored by Cam-a-lot goes to Sick of it All."

Later that evening the Audience Award, also sponsored by Cam-a-lot went to "12 Years and 6 Hours" by Sam Yazdapanna. A short, partly animated, documentary in which the author reflects on his leaving of Iran as an adolescent, on finding his way in his new homeland The Netherlands and on how it will be to see his parents again after twelve years and six hours.

The 10th edition of the International Bunker Film Festival will be from July 22nd till July 26th 2010. Deadline for entries will be May 1th, 2010.

We would like to thank our sponsors Submarine, Cam-a-Lot, Beamsystems and Augustuscolor, Rome once again for their generous support and ofcourse all volunteers that make this exceptional event possible.

See you next year!


NEWS IBFF 2008

The 8th edition of the International Bunker Film Festival closed July 19th on the beach in Ventimiglia with a special screening of 'The Best Of..' the IBFF.
The night before at the Award Ceremony the jury, consisting of Paul Grivas, Marjoleine Boonstra and headed by George Sluizer stated as follows:

"We have nominated three films: "Under Construction" by Zhenchen Liu, "Friends Place, Enemy's Place" by Elham Hosseinzadeh and "E Finita la Comedia" by Jean-Julien Collette and Olivier Tollet.
Director Zenchen Liu manages to go beyond the computer machinery he used for the film, making "Under Construction" a unique poetic, social and political film concerning the changes China has faced in recent years. Using a very simple narrative form, director Elham Hosseinzadeh reminds us that for animals, but also for humans, liberty is a burden. A conversation between a father and his son, "E Finita La Comedia" presents a confrontation of generations in a very surprising plot backed by excellent actors and a well written scenario.
The Golden Olive 2008 goes to "Under Construction" by Zhenchen Liu."

Later that evening the Audience Award went to "50 Cents" by Sarah Sylbing and Ester Gould. A short documentary about the eight year old Giovanni living in a notorious poor neighbourhood in Amsterdam in a home where there are hardly any rules. He arms himself against this chaos with his cheeky sense of humour and, young as he is, manages to stand on his own feet.

The ninth edition of the International Bunker Film Festival will be from August 2nd till August 6th 2009. Deadline for entries will be May 15th, 2009.

We would like to thank our sponsors Submarine, Cam-a-lot, Bemasystemns and Augustuscolor, Rome once again for their generous support and ofcourse all volunteers that make this exceptional event possible.

See you next year!