Wild Berries, the film made by Romulus Balazs (France) Marianna Vas (Hungary) and Hedda Bednarszky (Romania) within  Aristoteles Workshop 2017 was awarded the best documentary of the 12th edition. “The sensorial journey of a solitary boy immersed into his own world, who wanders through fields and forests with every step getting closer to the unknown” impressed the jury. French critic Leo Soesanto, Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Ribeiro, filmmaker Laurențiu Damian, scriptwriter Răzvan Rădulescu and director Titus Muntean decided the winning film with unanimous votes. “Portraying a world through the actions of a character and adding cinematic value to the whole process” were the main arguments in the jury’s motivation for awarding the 1.500 Euro prize, offered by Farmexim.

“We were speechless. We didn’t expect it and I still can’t believe it. I’d like to thank the whole team and especially to our tutor Nino Kirtadze, who was by our side during the whole process. We are also extremely grateful to the producers, Cristina Hoffman and Dan Nuțu. We would not have had the opportunity to make this movie if this had not been part of their dream of organising this workshop”, stated Romulus Balazs after receiving the news. “I sensed the potential of the film because the character we had the chance to meet was extraordinary. You can’t take your eyes off of that boy”, added Hedda Bednarszky.

The first screening of the five films made at Aristoteles Workshop 2017 was held on Friday, August 4th, at Cinema Arta in Arad. The evening started off with Ferry Tale, the movie in which “time and sounds cross the Mures river on a floating bridge that’s pushed by the flow of the current – an old ferry. A man operating the ferry, and his dog, sway between the two shores, sharing conversations and silences with the passengers on board’’. The audience welcomed with applause Michal Shanny (Israel) and  Quan Nguyen Hong (Vietnam) who were present in the cinema and they declared themselves delighted by the experience they had during the workshop. Răzvan Rădulescu was impressed by the stunning images caught on camera by Michal.

No Body, the movie made by Bahar Shoghi (Iran) and Mihnea Rares Hanțiu (Romania), managed to touch the audience from the first few seconds. The documentary tells the story of “a boy drowned in the river Mures. His body is still not found. In hope and fear, the father struggles to find the body of his son”. The jury was impressed by the choice of subject and by the way the river became itself an important character.

,,Conflicting emotions brew beneath the surface when a troubled son meets his mother’’ in the film made by Jasmina Beširević (Croatia), Iulia Stoian (Romania) and Quan Nguyen Hong (Vietnam). Something About Love was welcomed with excitement and the jury appreciated especially the dynamics between the two characters and the way the three filmmakers managed to portray it.

“There is fog in the morning, laundry hangs from colorful strings, almost no sound. he leaves the house while she still sleeps. Wasps eat jam from the ground. Two people bound by endless time spent, their eight children and the caring for a herd of cows: the acceptance of a life turned out not quite as expected.’’ The characters of Monologue drew the attention of the international jury, who congratulated Stefan Pavlovic (Netherlands), Aylin Gökmen (Switzerland) and  Miruna Minculescu (Romania) for the courage to tell an extremely powerful story and for the impressive scene they chose to end the film with.