Turkish feature film Jin and the confronting documentary Blush Of Fruit walked away with top honors at this year’s Adelaide Film Festival, announced on Closing Night.
Jin was announced as winner of the Foxtel Movies International Award for Best Feature Film at this year’s Adelaide Film Festival. The Festival also announced Blush of Fruit as winner of its first ever Documentary Award, sponsored by Flinders University.
Jin director and screenwriter Reha Erdem was last night awarded a $25,000 cash prize. Twelve features from around the globe competed for the Award, including films from France, Turkey, Chile, the United Kingdom, Australia, Hungary, Palestine, Germany, Italy, and for the first time, East Timor.
Foxtel Movies International Feature Jury President Al Clark, the producer behind some of Australia’s most memorable films, including The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Chopper, paid tribute to Erdem and his visually stunning and emotional feature film.
Al Clark, on behalf of the Jury said: “This year’s international competition program has taken us on journeys through many different worlds, most of them in states of conflict – from wars past, present and future to personal wars being conducted within and between families.”
“From the complex abundance of riches we’ve witnessed, the jury presents its best feature award to the film that had us spellbound by its beauty, its innovation, its poetry, its compassion, its startling cinematography and sound design, its indelible central performance and its visionary leap into the world of a character moving through the landscape of a nightmarish fairytale.”
In the Flinders University Documentary Award, Australian based director Jakeb Anhvu won the $10,000 cash prize. Blush of Fruit is
a fly on the wall documentary about a man’s quest and the mothers who care for the abused, orphaned children of Nha–Trang, Vietnam.
The 2013 Documentary Jury consisted of Joost Den Hartog, the Director of DOCWeek/AIDC, Cherelle Zheng, the founder of Beijing’s Channel Zero Media in 2000; and Kristy Matheson, a Film Programmer at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).
The Documentary Jury comments: “Jakeb Anhvu poured his all into a seven-‐year journey trying to comprehend the plight of his father’s adoption story. The result is a rare exposure of a dark world, told through effective images and a sophisticated cinematic language, which allows audiences to form their own reaction to a complex humanitarian issue. Blush of Fruit speaks directly to the power of film festivals ability to illuminate new discoveries and filmmaking talent.
“In awarding the inaugural Flinders University Documentary Prize, we each sincerely wish Jakeb Anhvu the very best for his filmmaking career and eagerly await the next time we meet in a darkened theatre.”
Amanda Duthie, Adelaide Film Festival Director said: “The International Feature Jury and the Documentary Jury have delivered us a thoughtful and energetic contribution to the 2013 Adelaide Film Festival. I thank them for their consideration and drawing on their extraordinary collective experience of festivals, art and storytelling. And I am delighted for all the filmmakers who were in the Feature and Documentary selections — congratulations all.”
The 2013 Adelaide Film Festival closed last night, with the Australian premiere of the documentary A Story of Children and Film, from director Mark Cousins. The Festival opened October 10 with the much anticipated Australian premiere of Tracks, the inspirational true story of Robyn Davidson’s 2700km solo trek from the harsh centre of Australia to the Indian Ocean. Filmed in South Australia and starring Mia Wasikowska, Tracks kicked off eleven days of the best of Australian and internationally produced films, across a variety of screens including cinema, television, hand-held devices and gallery installations.
New work from Australian directors Rolf de Heer, Warwick Thornton, Lynette Wallworth, John Curran, Sophie Hyde, Eddie Martin, Sophia Turkiewicz, Wayne Blair and Rowan Woods lead the Australian feature selections.
For the first time, the Festival expanded its program and audience reach, extending outside the city to Goodwood, Port Adelaide, Elizabeth, Mount Barker, Leabrook, McLaren Vale, Mt Gambier, Port Pirie, Noarlunga, Goolwa and Whyalla.
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