The Special Jury Prize is awarded to Homesick by Koya Kamura (Japan): For having displayed, despite its length, the whole mourning process, in which the relationship between parent and child is approached with depth and from different points of view, in a world of survivors with a traumatic past to metabolize.

The award for Best Soundtrack (Premio Gabrielle Lucantonio) goes to Heidi Happy for All Inclusive (Switzerland): For the structural and dramaturgical use of sound, crucial for clarifying the director’s point of view. The music, in this case, is not a simple comment, but a lens through which, one can observe the actions in a narrative frame of universal appeal.

The award for Best Editing goes to Marshall Curry for The Neighbors’ Window (USA): Fundamental editing to properly portray the game of mirrors which characterizes the interactions between the characters and the delicate crescendo of the protagonist’s psychology, culminating in the final break of a binary rhythm.

The award for Best Cinematography goes to Nicolas Berteyac for Beaver at Work (France): For the ability to recreate in real spaces a surreal atmosphere, thanks to the use of colour and light; the director was able to amplify a sense of alienation using grotesque tones.  

The award for Best Animation Short Film goes to Memorable by Bruno Collet (France): For the promotion of the stop motion technique, essential for making visible the invisible deterioration of the protagonist’s perception, affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

The award for Best Documentary Short Film goes to All Cats Are Gray in the Dark by Lasse Linder (Switzerland): For having succeeded in highlighting the protagonist’s private life, even in its most intimate and delicate aspects. And also for the interesting research on the context, which accentuates the sense of drama and the protagonist’s isolation.

The award for Best Screenplay goes to Bogdan Muresanu for Cadoul de Craciun (Romania): For the story’s originality and the particularly clever use of dialogue, through which the relationship between a father and a son becomes the emblem of a wider socio-political cross-section.

The award for Best Actress goes to Behdokht Valian for Tattoo (Iran): For having succeeded, through her interpretation, in transmitting a message of powerful femininity, in a highly inquisitional context in which the body becomes a symbol of resistance.

The award for Best Actor goes to Georges Siatidis for Kapitalistis (France/Belgium): For his subtle interpretation which manages, with few and calibrated nuances, to portray as credible a comical character inserted in a dramatical context.

The award for Best Director goes to Erenik Beqiri for The Van (Albania): For his calibrated work of synergy between all the film components, able to preserve a lucid gaze on the characters while also maintaining a quick and constant pace.

The award for Best National Short goes to Florence by Emanuele Daga (Italy): Because it demonstrates how an Italian auteur can convey a personal look into a productive context which is distant from the national tradition, narrating an intimate story in a universe rich in credible details and with frequent register changes.

The award for Best International Short goes to A Sister by Delphine Girard (Belgium): For having been able to make the most of the short-film format with a story that is born, develops, and dies through a punctual and millimetric cadence, both in the writing and in the handling of the duration and of the plotpoints. Remarkable is also the work on the actresses, well supported by a direction only apparently of service and equipped with vivid formal maturity.

The award for Best Music Video goes to Hubris by Ian Isak (Denmark) with the following motivation: Superb acting performance by the protagonist who is somewhat reminiscent of the character portrayed by Werner Herzog in the film by Harmony Korine “Julien Donkey Boy”. Skilful usage of editing in alternating the two shooting techniques, widescreen and 4:3 to simulate a POV shot realised with a miniDV camcorder by one of the actors. Extraordinary the casting and choreography realised by the extras to mark the rhythm of the song. Absolutely brilliant the surprise ending.

The award for Best Abruzzo Short Film goes to Dove si va da qui directed byAntonello Schioppa. The motivation: A simple, precise direction, which is effective in combining the images, the actors’ portrayals, and the rhythm of the narration of a family tragedy with unpredictable consequences. Admirable the choice to allow the audience to imagine the before and after. Perfect the portrayal of the father by Peppino Mazzotta (always focused and credible) and the interpretation of the young Riccardo Peta is also very effective. A short-film which invites us to look forward with interest to the first feature length film by Antonello Schioppa.

The Premio SIFF Studenti 2019 was awarded, by 200 students of Sulmona’s high schools, to the short-film L’Attesa by Angela Bevilacqua, chosen in the “National” category. For having allowed us all to experience the same emotions of the protagonist, inside the closingwalls of a humble house. The story of a mother, consumed by the fear of a terrorist attack, brings us back to the cruel reality of our times. Beautiful, passionate, human, alsoremarkable for the technical characteristics from the focal plane to the close-ups.