Keep the Change, The Cakemaker and Men Don’t Cry among the non-statutory awards winners

Non-statutory awards were announced on Saturday afternoon.

The award of international film critics FIPRESCI goes to US rom-com Keep the Change by Rachel Israel. „It is a tender film with a simple narrative, driven by complex emotions. By letting herself be inspired by her magnificent actors' personal experiences of life on the autism spectrum, writer/director Rachel Israel has created a work that is inclusive, fresh and thoroughly engaging,“ thinks the jury.

The Ecumenical Jury award goes to The Cakemaker, a film from Israel and Germany by Ofir Raul Graizer. “With a gentle approach, the film portrays a journey towards acceptance and the pursuit of love. The unique bond formed between the characters strengthens a healing process that brings them a new life. It allows the viewer to connect to the most important of human values, something that overcomes all prejudices: love,“ says the jury.

FEDEORA award by Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean for the best film from East of the West competition section belongs to Romanian film Mariţa by Cristi Iftime. “For the simplicity in directing his debut feature film, focused on the everyday life of a family, whose members, no matter that the family is separated after the divorce of the parents, at their reunion, celebrate the meeting and enjoy it in a spontaneous and friendly way that brings positive energy into their lives,” explained the jury.

Special Mention of the FEDEORA jury belongs to Blue Silence by Bülent Öztürk, for its strong, corageous take both in visuals, sounds and silences on how violence and war eats the soul.

Men Don’t Cry (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany) by Alen Drljević won the Europa Cinemas Label award for the best European film in the Main Competition or the East of the West Competition. „The jury was struck by the film's non-judgemental stance on the characters' different perspectives, brought to vivid life by its fine cast, the universality of its theme of the value of forgiveness not just of others, but of ourselves, for past actions, its relevance to Europe's future as a community, and its subtle commentary on the negative aspects of masculinity,” says the jury.