The 'Listapad' film festival has ended, giving film fans many interesting films gathered from completely different corners of the world. We write about what made the last days of the festival memorable.

Main Competition

How wrong we were when we previously wrote about the end of interesting screenings. On the last day, they showed very unusual films: Indonesian cinema about young love, a yet-to-be-released Russian film about the Day of the Dead starring Alexander Pal, as well as the festival winner.

'Ilhaq' as the Film That Took the Festival's Main Awards

'Ilhaq' is one of the few festival films that completely defied expectations. A war film from Uzbekistan, its synopsis was utterly unenticing. A mother sends all her children off to war and is left alone. Waiting for her sons, she yearns day and night, wishing each a good life. But what will her grief be if they all die? Will anything remain in the old woman's soul? You'll agree, we've seen something similar many times before. 

And yes, 'Ilhaq' repeats virtually all the basic elements of war films: the loneliness that haunts the main characters, love affairs disrupted by deployment to the front, a large-scale battle scene in the trenches, and, of course, the emptiness in the memories left after the war. However, in this utterly sincere film, it all takes on a rather symbolic character.

In 'Ilhaq', one of the festival's central themes also reaches its final development. All discord and conflicts between different generations end when the children have to go to war. The central image of the mother is admirable: the actress became so immersed in the role that she seemed to become one with it. The film's finale is built on her performance: the loss of all her children broke a strong woman, yet she is forced to hide her emotions inside. The film's ending, which shows the future of the story's characters, also brings tears: the death of an entire generation left a significant mark on the family's continued existence, as well as the memory of the heroes who fought and won. True, the victory saved no one, leaving only the sorrow of a grave loss. 

It's hard to imagine any other festival for the first screening of this work. It seems that almost all conditions were in favor of the work, which, however, deservedly took its prizes: the chairman of the main competition jury was appointed Renat Davletyarov (director of the new version of 'The Dawns Here Are Quiet...'), who also presented the award to the film. It is quite possible that this jury member could have had the final influence on the film's victory in the competition. 

The film also took the prize of the President of Belarus, which was given for the most accurate alignment with the festival's goals: unification and cooperation of delegations from world countries with Belarus in the field of cinema. Hence another reason: a few days before the film's premiere, a cooperation agreement was signed between Uzbekistan and Belarus. The final shots of the film were filmed at a military cemetery in Minsk, which seems to hint at the beginning of cooperation long before 'Listapad'. 

'Yuni'

A girl named Yuni studies at an Indonesian school, spending almost all her time with friends. Yuni is looking for a man who can not only provide for her future life but also truly love her. After two rejections, she finds the right person, who turns out to be her school teacher. 

Perhaps the main thing to thank this year's festival for is the lack of fear in selecting competition works. The geography of the films that made it to Belarus is impressive: Nigeria, Lebanon, Indonesia, and many other participating countries from different corners of the world. Despite the dashed expectations from the change of organizers, the festival this year gained a new breath, truly becoming an international-level film showcase. 

'Yuni' gives a completely different idea of what love films can be. By paying attention to insignificant details, it creates a completely understandable image of the heroine, which can interest viewers of different ages. Yuni is a teenager who is not at all interested in adult worries. She just wants to hang out with her friends, discussing the still unexplored world around them. Perhaps she became the best female image of the festival for many, though she did not impress the jury at all. They split the award for Best Actress between 'My Night' and 'Following Her Shadow' — a Chinese film we were unable to see during the festival. 

'Yuni' is also a work about where love relationships can lead. A 'triangle' envelops the heroine from all sides of her life, leading to a poetic finale that references the beginning of the film. And by combining its action with Indonesian flavor, 'Yuni' ranks among the most unusual films of the year. In its imagery, it sometimes recalls Berlin's 'Undine', sometimes the films of Woody Allen, and at other times creates something completely new. 

'Day of the Dead'

A mother and son embark on a big adventure to visit all their relatives on the Day of the Dead. Their journey will be long: they plan to visit five cemeteries, which will take the whole day. The trip becomes an occasion to discuss all family conflicts and also to make peace with each other. 

'Day of the Dead' is a Russian film that debuted at Kinotavr, whose production fell into the hands of debutant Viktor Ryzhakov. The popular theater director made a talkative film that, over an hour and a half, reveals four generations of one family through the dialogue of two characters. The road trip becomes the main means of communication between family members, which also recalls another Russian road movie this year, 'Rodnye'. True, if 'Rodnye' worked on its own territory (the film was shot by the already experienced Ilya Aksyonov), then 'Day of the Dead' appears as a director's first attempt, who has not yet learned the basic rules of cinematic language. 

The conversation between two characters, even if it manages to hold interest for a while, probably won't evoke the proper emotions from the finale. The characters, although they manage to reveal themselves, take on completely gray and hazy forms. You don't believe that so many events could happen in one family's life. The love line between the main character and his beloved also fails to develop: moving with some goal throughout the film, it remains open in the finale and looks a bit undercooked. 

The directorial style of the young debutant is not surprising either, focusing all emotions in a few pictures: similar shots are repeated many times, causing fatigue. And the flavor of the Mexican holiday is strangely combined with Russian traditions, which raises many questions. The creators constantly try to move from pessimism to optimism, and back, which resembles the New Year's box office hit 'Yolki'. True, is that bad? It's up to the viewer who decides to see the Russian film straight from the festivals. 

Main Awards of the 'Listapad' Competitions

Special Prizes 

• Special Prize for Humanism and Spirituality in Cinema (Prize of the President of the Republic of Belarus) – 'Ilhaq' (Uzbekistan)
• Special Prize of the Minsk City Executive Committee – 'The Pilot' (Russia)
• Winner of the Children's Film Competition – 'Even Mice Belong in Heaven' (Czech Republic, France, Slovakia, Poland)
• Prize of the CIS Executive Committee – 'Qazaq. History of the Golden Man' (Kazakhstan, USA)
• Special Award of the Representative of the Interstate Company 'Mir' in the Republic of Belarus – 'By Bike to the Moon'  (Georgia)

Documentary Film Competition (Main Prizes)

• Audience Award for Best Documentary Film – 'The Arrow' (Belarus)
• Special Prize for Documentary Film – 'Quiet Heritage'  (Bulgaria)
• Grand Prix for Best Documentary Film – 'Long Shot' (Russia)
• Special Jury Prize of the Film Press – 'The Hero' (Iran)

'Cinema of the Young' Competition 

• Diploma for Best Animated Film – 'Painting by Numbers' (Australia)
• Diploma for Sincerity – 'Honey Cigar' (France)
• Diploma for Directing – 'The Burden' (Tajikistan)
• Special Jury Prize – 'Loulou' (France)
• Diploma for Best Embodiment of the Film Festival Slogan 'Cinema – Symphony of Unity' - 'Door to Door' (India)
• Diploma for Precise Film Irony – 'White Heterosexual Male' (Russia)
• Diploma for Successful Debut – 'Mayakovsky' (Russia)
• Prize for Best Film of the 'Cinema of the Young' Competition named after Kirill Turov – 'The Son' (Iran)

Main Competition of Feature Films

Prize for Best Cinematography – 'The Royal Game' (Germany, Austria) Prize for Best Actor – 'The Royal Game' (Germany, Austria) Audience Award of the Main Competition of Feature Films – (Germany, Austria) Special Jury Mention – 'Inner Glow' (Venezuela) Prize for Best Sound Design – 'Fire' (Kazakhstan) Prize for Best Actress – 'My Night' (France)/'Following Her Shadow' (China) Prize for Best Screenplay – 'The Hero' (Iran) Prize for Best Directing – 'Fire' (Kazakhstan) Grand Prix of the Main Competition of Feature Films – 'Ilhaq' (Uzbekistan)

Roman Kovalev

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