The jury of the 23rd mBank New Horizons International Film Festival in Wroclaw awarded the Grand Prix and a €10,000 prize to the film The Delinquents, directed by Rodrigo Moreno.
The Grand Prix goes to a film about a search for freedom in both form and content that takes us on an extraordinary journey, shapeshifting through multiple genres, tracing a playful, surreal, imposing love letter to cinema – this is how the jury, comprising of Mark Jenkin (winner of the Grand Prix for Bait at the 18th NH), Dane Komljen (winner of an honorable mention for Afterwater at the 22nd NH), Jennifer Reeder (her film The Perpetrator was included in this year’s Night Madness section), Sergio Fant (programmer of the Berlinale IFF), and Aga Woszczyńska (Silent Land was one of the opening films at last year’s NH), describes it.
Rodrigo Moreno is a filmmaker born and based in Buenos Aires. His films have won awards at numerous film festivals, and his work has been exhibited at prestigious venues such as MoMA, the Guggenheim Museum, Anthology Film Archives, and Lincoln Center in the USA, Centre Pompidou in France, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Germany.
The jury also awarded an special mention to the film After. In their justification, they praised Anthony Lapia’s work for its intense and immersive observation of a community and intimate portrayal of characters that leads us to consider contemporary issues that finally resonate even louder than techno music.
Festival viewers also had their say in selecting their winner. Elene Naveriani, the director of Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry, was awarded the Audience Award.
In the Shortlist section, the winner of the award for the best film went to Damian Kosowski, the director of The Creature.
The winner of the Zuzanna Jagoda Kolska Award was chosen from among filmmakers under the age of 30. Selected by the jury, which included chairperson of the board of directors of the Zuzanna Jagoda Kolska Foundation (co-founder of the award) and members of the New Horizons Association.
The Delinquents, Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry, and After will be screened on the final day of the on-site part of the festival, Sunday, July 30. The screenings of the Grand Prix winner, The Delinquents, will begin at 9:30 and 15:45 at the New Horizons Cinema. The Audience Award winner, Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry, will be screened at 19:30, also at the New Horizons Cinema. Caution! This is a change from the originally scheduled hour. Additionally, the award-winning film After, directed by Anthony Lapia, will start at 13:45 at the Lower Silesian Film Center (followed by the Q&A session). For those who cannot attend the on-site screenings, After and The Creature can also be viewed as part of the online festival on the website nowehoryzonty.pl.
This is not the end of the festival – you’re still invited to online screenings of over 100 titles until August 6!
The 24th edition of the mBank New Horizons International Film Festival will take place from July 18-28, 2024.