Concorto daily, August 28

Asinello d’oro di Sofia Brugali

Without any doubt, my Asinello d’Oro for the 20^th edition of Concorto Film Festival goes to Sefid Poosh (White Clad) by Reza Fahimi. I think that the most appropriate adjective to describe the short film is precious, because of the sensibility through which the filmmaker has been able to talk about life and death. Indeed, while the plot put the emphasis on death penalty in Iran, the film includes positive values, too. They are especially evident in the character of Ahmed and enacted by the people he meets in the village. Hospitality, reciprocity and solidarity are represented together with the subject of death sentence and its acceptance by the relatives of the victim.

Asinello d’oro di Margherita Fontana

My Golden Donkey this year goes to the British animation Affairs of the Art by Joanna Quinn for its light-hearted portrayal of family ties as a driver of creativity. I also loved the irony with which the author gives form through drawing to her fascination with death (and everything that precedes it).

Asinello d’oro di Yorgos Kostianis

For its seamless execution of the one-take shot, its variegated yet somehow familiar cast, and the unforced fashion through which it observes and dissects the woes and the solaces of a generation struggling to find its place on this weary world –my golden donkey goes to Otto Lazić-Reuschel’s When I Dance, The Earth Trembles.

Special Mentions:
The Nightwalk – Adriano Valerio;
Grab Them – Morgane Dziurla-Peti;
Lizard – Akinola Davies

Asinello d’oro di Carlotta Magistris

For the insightfulness of a kinetic photography that hits particularly close to home for today’s millennials but also for all the generations that escaped the trap of escapism and headed to free cities and for the strength of the cinematic language of a low-budget self-production, my Asinello d’Oro goes to “When I dance, the earth trembles” by Otto Lazic-Reuschel.

Asinello d’oro di Vanessa Mangiavacca

Giving only one Asinello d’Oro in this 2021 edition is a very tough choice. As usual, we let ourselves be carried away by emotions, and each passing year gives us a different point of view: my Asinello d’Oro goes to Searching for a mutual composition by Peter Podolsky, because its delicate and straightforward approach made me see my mother under a new light. Special mention to Swallow the Universe by Nieto: it is not easy to find another short film that switches your mind off for 15 minutes.

Asinello d’oro di Irene Pagano

My Asinello d’Oro goes to “Noir-Soleil” by Marie Larrivé, a heartbreaking hommage to fragile relationships, for its beautiful and haunting animations, the vividness of its colours, the vitality of its natural and urban backgrounds. This film portays a kind of love which is inherently elusive, expressed through the subliminal language of silence and distance, and which is constantly walking the borders between instinctual harmony and utter incompatibility. It’s a great feat to give such flawless represantation to a dynamic so hard to define, and Larrivé leaves exactly as much room for doubt and conflict as needed.
As imperfect and broken love seems to be a reoccurring theme in most of my favourite stories, I will also give a Special Mention to Andrea Schramm’s “27 Schritte”. Here too, stillness plays a huge role in depicting what could only be described as a wound inside a wound, a quiet and yet atrocious pain whose honesty can’t help but resonate with all of us during these weird, chaotic times.

Asinello d’oro di Alice Capitani

My Asinello d’Oro goes to Grab Them, a deepfake short film by Morgane Dziurla-Petit, for being able to successfully dissect truth, fake news, and politics, turning upside down the viewer’s perception of reality: would you ever have thought to empathize with someone who, although just on the surface, looks like Donald Trump? An innovative and irreverent work capable of making you laugh but still stressing an idea that, in this social media era, is more important than ever: stop judging people by their looks.