Free online screenings and awards

For the competition “A-Place / Migrants, refugees and displaced communities” City Space Architecture received 34 submissions and shortlisted 19 films to be included in the final selection and to be screened on the dedicated online platform with free streaming during the days of the festival. The jury gave the following awards:

The first prize went to “Forbidden to enter” by Paul Buske and Omar Alsawadi. Motivation of the jury: An emotional journey into the condition of migrants and refugees on the Bosnian-Croatian border of the European Union. It powerfully depicts the aspiration for a better life coming from the voices of displaced individuals and communities, living in extreme poverty in derelict buildings and desperately searching for hope. The sense of helplessness is opposed to the privilege granted to the protagonist Omar, a Syrian refugee now living in Germany;

The second prize went to “Zafar” by Aqsa Altaf and John X Carey. Motivation of the jury: A very effective portray of the strife of immigrants, closely tied to the theme of contemporary urban life. The film shows a rare empathetic view of modern delivery workers, carefully meshing the impersonal quality of digitized customer interactions with the intimately personal phone calls with the protagonist’s mother halfway across the world. It communicates well the uprootedness and transposed quality of immigrant life, being physically in one place but socially in another, and cleverly contrasts crossing the city (the impersonal local context) with navigating intimate social ties overseas (the remote personal life);

The third prize went to “Lili Alone” by Jing Zuo. Motivation of the jury: The film reflects female struggles and ownership over one’s own body. Symbolism of the city and public space as a forbidden realm is strong. Difficulties of the protagonist’s life are sharply contrasted with beautiful city views seen from the large windows of the surrogacy residence. City is represented as the unattainable polished outdoor world. The scene on the rooftop of the residence where one of the protagonists is singing to drive out the interior void, effectively captures this threshold between public and private space and the hopes for freedom. Effective narrative progression and storytelling;

An honorable mention went to “Waiting Working Hours” by Ben De Raes. Motivation of the jury: The film uses an innovative format: juxtaposition of the google map street views in the city of Brussels with voices of interviewees with the aim to reflect on the state of the city and everyday life of immigrant people. Leaving much to the imagination, the topic of discussion around the role of work for a decent life is dealt with a mature approach: it presents an original, cohesive yet diverse narrative around precarious work and its relationship to urban life for migrants and refugees, with a careful and effective selection of dialogue and succession of interviews;

An honorable mention went to “Their Land, Our Home” by Ryan Powel. Motivation of the jury: A story of displacement in the informal settlement of Santa Filomena in Lisbon. The search for a place to inhabit is the condition of vulnerable communities found themselves homeless, with cranes destroying their memories and erasing their identity. The human attachment to the land is opposed to the process of urban renewal of the real estate market.

For the competition “A-Place / Resilient Communities” City Space Architecture received 12 submissions and shortlisted 19 films to be included in the final selection and to be screened on the dedicated online platform with free streaming during the days of the festival. The jury gave the following awards:

The first prize went to “The Silent Echo” by Suman Sen. Motivation of the jury: A visually stunning and unique representation of the independence of a small group of children to freely roam and play in their own area, a freedom that is now curtailed for many children. Despite the setbacks the children faced in the city – a foreign urban context - they continue to do what they love, illustrating their resilience yet a deep sadness for an uncertain future;

An honorable mention went to “Holy Houses” by Annefleur Schut. Motivation of the jury: A great initiative of tolerance and solidarity among difference communities, aiming at overcoming divisions and establishing a common ground of values, re-defining the spatial identity of an extended public space through a network of building of worship;

An honorable mention went to “The Lions Are Not For Sale” by Sergio Osvaldo Valdes. Motivation of the jury: The film’s narrative succinctly conveys the contemporary challenges of people’s resistance to preserve a historical garden in response to the urban development in the Mexican city of Monterrey. It depicts the desire for diversity in the built form and the recognition of the importance of biodiversity within our cities. An excellent example of environmental and cultural resilience within a community.