‘Amira’ and 'Costa Brava, Lebanon' are set to compete as part of the Feature Narrative competition at El Gouna Film Festival.
Venice Film Festival has announced the award winners of its 78th edition.
Palestinian film Amira, by director Mohamed Diab, received three prestigious awards; Lanterna Magica Award, the Interfilm Award and the CICT-UNESCO “Enrico Fulchignoni ” Award. While CineGouna alumnus Costa Brava, Lebanon (Lebanon, France, Spain, Norway), directed by Monia Akl, received a special mention for tackling highly relevant issues related to the environment. Both films are set to compete as part of the Feature Narrative competition of the El Gouna Film Festival.
The two films have been selected to screen during the fifth edition of GFF, which will take place from October 14-22, 2021, in the resort town of El Gouna.
The film deals with a real-life phenomenon of Palestinian children conceived via IVF using the smuggled sperm of Palestinian political prisoners languishing in Israeli jails. Amira, a 17-year-old Palestinian, was conceived with the smuggled sperm of her imprisoned father, Nawar. Although their relationship since birth has been restricted to prison visits, he remains her hero. His absence in her life is overcompensated with love and affection from those surrounding her. But when a failed attempt to conceive another child reveals Nawar’s infertility, Amira’s world turns upside down.
Costa Brava, Lebanon tells the story of the free-spirited Badri family, who have escaped the toxic pollution of Beirut by seeking refuge in the utopic mountain home they have built. But unexpectedly, a garbage landfill is built right outside their fence, bringing the trash and corruption of a whole country to their doorstep. As the trash rises, so do tensions between leaving or resisting—threatening their idyllic home and family unity.
Audrey Diwan’s Happening (France) garnered critical acclaim and secured multiple awards including the ARCA Cinema Giovani Award, Brian Award, FIPRESCI Award, and the Golden Lion in a unanimous decision, according to jury president Bong Joon Ho. Stéphane Brizé’s Another World (France) secured the SIGNIS Award, and last but not least Teemu Nikki’s The Blind Man Who Did not Want to See Titanic (Finland) received the Audience Award Armani Beauty.
