GIEFF Student Award 2020 - Jury

Itsushi Kawase (Japan)
Simone Pfeiffer (Germany)
Trond Waage (Norway)

Manfred Krüger Student Award 2020 - Jury

Caterina Alves Costa (Portugal)
Peter I. Crawford (Norway)
Judith Schein (Germany)

GIEFF Student Award 2020

The Jury (Itsushi Kawase, Simone Pfeifer and Trond Waage) decided to award the GIEFF student prize to a film from and about Egypt.

The GIEFF Student Award went to the film
Flox  by Hady Mahmoud, Egyptian.

Egypt, 2019, 45,5 min
Location: Egypt, Cairo

Inspired by the everyday struggle of micro-bus drivers in Cairo, “Flox”, the title of this film and the name of the micro-bus as pronounced by its drivers, is an observational documentary that looks at the intricate interplay between class and gender. Specifically, it explores how micro-bus drivers perceive and negotiate their masculinity in a mega-city like Cairo. For them, driving a difficult vehicle, handling inter-group conflict, struggling with poverty and substance abuse only makes them wish not to see their children inherit the same job. The film is about the beauty and the dark side of the chaotic life of the urban poor who are forced to create a state within a state in order to survive.

Two Honourable Mentions

Additionally the jury awarded two special mentions.

One Honourable Mention went to the film
Sky, Earth and Man by Caroline Reucker, German.

Germany, 2018, 70 min
Location: Morocco 
Production: Caroline Reucker and Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg

The wind is ever-present in this portrait of the Moroccan desert. “Sky, Earth and Man” tries to get a hold of the windswept cities and landscapes of the Atlas Mountains and the people who live there. It follows Ahmed, Yusself, Lahcen and Idir whose stories enable the viewer to witness their daily lives, desires and feeling of belonging. They are members of the Berber tribe Ait Seghrouchen. While some of them still lead a traditional lifestyle based on animal breeding, more and more members leave the normadic tradition behind to follow their own more modern way of life. This is not without conflict but once a year, everyone comes together again to celebrate the Lemma Festival .

One Honourable Mention went to the film
Coleum by Coralie Seignard, French.

France, 2020, 30 min
Location: France, Corsica
Production: Grec (Groupe de Recherches et d'Essais Cinématographiques)

Three pigs are taken to the slaughterhouse by the man. Once they are dead, their meat is carved by the man and his son. The grandson observes the scene.

Manfred Krüger Student Award

The Jury (Catarina Alves Costa, Peter I. Crawford and Judith Schein) decided to award the Manfred Kürger student price to a film from Slovenia about Bosnia and Herzegovina.