IX Eurasia International Film Festival was held in 2013 in Almaty. This time, the international jury was headed by New Zealand writer and film director Jane Campion, winner of the Academy Award for Best Screenplay and the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for the film “Piano”. The jury also included filipino director, cinematographer and producer Brillante Mendoza, who was awarded the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival for the film “Carnage”, Spanish producer, director, actor and screenwriter Luis Minarro, as well as American screenwriter David Franzoni, winner of the Academy Award for the film “Gladiator”. The youngest participant of the jury was a representative of Kazakhstan – 29-year-old director Emir Baigazin.
The real decoration of the festival and its main surprise was the arrival of the great chansonnier and actor Charles Aznavour, who, according to a joint survey by Time magazine and CNN, was recognized as the best pop performer of the XX century. The 89-year-old patriarch of French song and actor was in great shape and looked great on the red carpet of the festival in his red jacket. And by the way, he came to Kazakhstan for the first time in his long life – to receive a special prize for his contribution to world art.
One of the most important events of the festival was the second “Kazakhstan Market of Film Projects” – a unique business platform aimed at supporting young filmmakers and developing international co-production.
Winners:
Grand Prix for the best film – “In Bloom” (Georgia), directed by Nanni Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross.
Prize for the best director's work – Serik Aprymov (“Bauyr”, Kazakhstan).
Prize for the best female role – Jordis Triebel (“My Sisters”, Germany) and Elahe Khizari (“Don't worry, Sarah”, Iran).
Prize for the best male role – Koh Jia Ler («Ilo Ilo», Singapore) and Carlo Secci (“Sweetheart”, Italy).
The members of the FIPRESCI Jury presented their award to the film “Wadjda” (Germany – Saudi Arabia), and the NETPAC Jury decided this year to give their prizes to two films at once: “Bauyr” (Kazakhstan) and “Waiting for the Sea” (Russia – Kazakhstan – Germany – France).
