‘My Mother, the Monster,’ About a Mom Who Dons a Scary Mask, Wins CineLink Award

Olivr Rudolfs My Mother, the Monster has won the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award at Sarajevo Film Festivals CineLink, its industry section that featured projects from Southeast Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

The Hungarian feature film project, which is produced by Genovva Petrovits at Kino Alfa, received a cash prize of 20,000 ($21,727).

The film focuses on va, a mother in her forties who is disappointed with her life and tired of feeling insignificant. She finds a new identity behind a scary monster mask which liberates her.

The Post Republic Award, in the CineLink Work in Progress section, went to One of Those Days Where Hemme Dies, directed by Murat Fratolu. The project, which is produced by Nefes Polat at Turkeys Nefes Films, receives post-production services worth 30,000.

The film shows one day in the life of Eyp, a poor guy in the city, working hard drying and salting tomatoes under the summer sun. He gets frustrated about not being given his daily wage and decides to kill Hemme, but the two men end up at a wedding together.

The CineLink Impact Award went to Ensar Altays Kanto, produced by Suleyman Civliz at Turkeys Fikirdkm. It receives production services worth 20,000. It is a story about an older woman who disappears on a snowy evening. Her friends, the police, and even her family think she has just run away and wants to be alone, so they stop looking for her, except for one person.

The Female Voices Cinelink Award and 10,000 went to drama series Connections, created by Tea Korolija, Maja Todorovi and Sran aper, and produced by Serbias Adrenalin. It is an anthology series that explores various aspects of romantic relationships, delving deep into the characters psychology and examining how society and the environment influence them.

The Croatian Audiovisual Center Drama Award, with a 15,000 cash prize, was won by North Macedonian TV series Adventures of a Turbo Folk Princess. The creators are Andrey Volkashin and Peter Vulchev, and the production company is Oxo Production. After accidentally poisoning her gangster fianc, clumsy sweetheart Vaska runs away with his money to fulfil her dream of becoming a pop star, mentored by the short-tempered prostitute Eboni.

CINELINK CO-PRODUCTION MARKET

EURIMAGES CO-PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT AWARD 20,000

Jury: Eleni Chandrinou, Greek National Representative Eurimages; Labina Mitevska, SistersBrother Mitevski; Oliver Neumann, Freibeuterfilm Gmbh

Winner: My Mother, the Monster

Director: Olivr Rudolf

Production Company: Kino Alfa

Country: Hungary

FILM CENTER MONTENEGRO AND FILM CENTER SERBIA CINELINK AWARD

Jury: Ivan Karl, Film Center Serbia; Sanja Jovanovi, Film Center Montenegro; Behrooz Hashemian, Silkroad Production; edomir Kolar, A.S.A.P. Films

Film Center Montenegro Cinelink Award 10,000

Winner: A Long Embrace

Director: Gabriel Tzafka

Production company: Wild at Heart

Country: Greece

Film Center Serbia Cinelink Award 10,000

Winner: Primavera

Director: Duan Kasalica

Production company: Meander Film

Country: Montenegro

ARTEKINO INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 6,000

Jury: Mathilde Hersant, Arte France Cinma

Winner: Antonivka

Director: Kateryna Gornostai

Production company: Moon Man

Country: Ukraine

CINELINK CO-PRODUCTION MARKET CINELINK DRAMA

FEMALE VOICES CINELINK AWARD, FILM CENTER SLOVENIA 10,000

Jury: Nataa Buar, Film Center Slovenia; Anamaria Antoci, Tangaj Productions; Tamara Tatishvili, Focal Medici

Winner: Connections

Creators: Tea Korolija, Maja Todorovi, Sran aper

Production companies: Adrenalin

Country: Serbia

CINELINK DRAMA

Jury: Sran Vuleti, director; Cia Edstrm, Gteborg Film Festival; Danna Stern, In Transit Productions

Croatian Audiovisual Center Drama Award 15,000

Winner: Adventures of a Turbo Folk Princess

Creators: Andrey Volkashin, Peter Vulchev

Production Company: Oxo Production

Countries: North Macedonia and Bulgaria

TV Drama Vision Pitch Award 2,000

Winner: Amazons of Istanbul

Creators: Nisan Da, Mge zen

Production company: Solis Film

Country: Turkey

CINELINK WORK IN PROGRESS

Jury: Sbastien Chesneau, Cercamon; Petra Gobel, Post Republic; Esra Demirkiran, Turkish National Radio Television; Jim Kolmar, South By Southwest Film Festival; Jean-Marc Zekri, Quinzaines Des Cinastes

Turkish National Radio Television Award 25,000

Winner: As If You Were Never Here

Director: Eti Tsicko

Production companies: Lama Films, Intrig Internazionale and 20 Steps

Countries: Israel, Italy and Georgia

Post Republic Award In Kind Post-Production Services Worth 30,000

Winner: One of Those Days Where Hemme Dies

Director: Murat Fratolu

Production company: Nefes Films

Country: Turkey

CINELINK IMPACT AWARD

Jury: Faridah Gbadamosi, Tribeca Enterprises; Amy Shepherd, Think-Film Impact Production; Rory Thost, Participant

Think-Film Impact Production 20,000 In Kind

Winner: Kanto

Director: Ensar Altay

Production company: Fikirdkm

Country: Turkey

DOCU ROUGH CUT BOUTIQUE

Jury: Tereza Keilova, HBO Europe; Eugen Kelemen, Avanpost; Catherine Leclef, Cat Marcel Maiga, Dok Leipzig; Lejla Dedi, Al Jazeera Balkans; Sofia Tocar, Institute of Documentary Film

Avanpost Award In Kind Post-Production Services Worth 20,000

Winner: Adelina: Symphony of Longing and Estrangement

Director: Rati Tsiteladze

Production company: Artway Film

Country: Georgia

CatDocs Award 2,000

Winner: Your Life Without Me

Director: Anna Rubi

Production company: Somnus Film

Countries: Hungary, Sweden

HBO Max Award 2,000

Winner: Adelina: Symphony of Longing and Estrangement

Director: Rati Tsiteladze

Production company: Artway Film

Country: Georgia

Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival/Ajb Doc Award 2,000

Winner: Pavilion 6

Director: Goran Devi

Production company: 15th Art Productions

Country: Croatia

East Silver Caravan Award In Kind Distribution Service Worth 3,500

Winner: Your Life Without Me

Director: Anna Rubi

Production company: Somnus Film

Countries: Hungary, Sweden

Dok Leipzig Preview Award Invitation to Present a Project at Dok Leipzig 2023

Winner: Pavilion 6

Director: Goran Devi

Production company: 15th Art Productions

Country: Croatia