Grand Prix of Envirofilm 2012 for the Italian Film

THE WELL – WATER VOICES FROM ETHIOPIA

Tomorrow, on Saturday the 19th May, the 18th International Festival of Environmental Film Envirofilm ends. This year the festival was held in eight Slovak cities. Banska Bystrica, Zvolen, Banská Štiavnica, Kremnica and Krupina were joined by Poltár, Skalica and Košice. This year for the first time the Bratislava cinemas Artkino za Zrkadlom and the film club Lúky (Cultural Facilities of Petržalka) were involved in the festival.

Filmmakers from 32 countries all over the world sent 179 films for the competition, which is a record in ENVIROFILM´s history.  For the first time, filmmakers from Palestine competed in the festival. The Selection Committee, which met in March, nominated 57 films by authors from 19 world countries to the main competition. Audience in all festival cities could watch them.

The International Film Jury met on 12th to 15th April in Banská Bystrica. Its members were Kateřina Javorská (Slovak Republic), Iwona Siekierzynska (Poland), Janka Mesiariková (Slovak Republic), František Palonder (Slovak Republic) and Ferenc Varga (Hungary). The Jury members decided to award 19 prizes. The Grand Prix was awarded to the Italian film The Well – Water Voices from Ethiopia made by the directors Paolo Barberi a Riccardo Russo. (Each year, in the dry Oromia lowlands (South of Ethiopia), when the drought is coming, the Borana herders gather with their livestock, after days and days of walk, around their secular astonishing “singing” wells...)

Prizes in individual categories were awarded to the authors from the Czech Republic (SHARPSHOOTER OF THE EURASIAN LYNX), France (MADAGASCAR, THE LOST MAKAY), Germany (SUPER ANIMALS 2 – 2. WILD KINDERGARTEN) and Belgium (CHERNOBYL FOREVER). The Children´s Jury, which met during the festival, was impressed the most by the film SUPER ANIMALS 2 – 2. WILD KINDERGARTEN.
Generally, filmmakers from Germany, France and Slovakia received the most awards. The Award Ceremony will take place today evening at the Town Hall in Banska Bystrica, where traditionally also the prize of the Union of Slovak Television Programme Makers and the Literary Fund will be handed over. This time, it will be given to the graduate of the Academy of Arts in Banska Bystrica Alžbeta Harry Gavendová for a persistent and artistically creative search of inspiration in her native region, sensitive exploring of ordinary people connected with the earth and humble to its beauty.

For 17 years already the contest of children’s artistic creativity “Green World” has been accompanying the festival. This year, its theme was “My footprint on Planet Earth” and as many as 2,774 authors from 354 Slovak schools (2,620 works) participated in the contest. From abroad (Latvia, Serbia, China) 98 authors competed. The main prize, donated by the European Commission Representation in Slovakia, was won by five-year old Michal Demko from Ružomberok for the work Ploughing in a Field.

Up till now, four environmental records have been entered in the Book of Slovak Records in Envirofilm: a record ball (2008), a record snake (2009), a record chain (2010) and in 2011 a record four-leaf clover (Envirofilm logo) with the area of 51.59 m2. This year, 6,000 children from 15 primary schools (Banská Bystrica, Zvolen, Banská Štiavnica, Kremnica, Krupina, Sereď and Levice) collected approximately 50 thousand pieces of juice and milk containers (Tetra Pak) and the fifth record was broken! A record stork nest 96.4 cm high and 136 cm wide will be entered into the Book of Slovak Records.

Accompanying events traditionally enrich the film part of the festival in all festival cities. The festival participants in Banská Bystrica, Kremnica, Poltár and Skalica met David Barna from U.S. National Park Service at the discussion on national parks. The Slovak filmmaker Tomáš Hulík was welcomed in Banská Bystrica, Poltár and Skalica. The discussion on the theme of eco-crimes with Ladislav Hanniker, the expert on crime against the environment from the General Prosecutor Office, drew big attention as well as the meeting with the first Slovak astronaut Ivan Bella and the astronomer Pavol Rapavý. The public showed also interest in the discussion on the topic What threatens us, what is it environmental load and risk? This was also the leitmotif of this year’s festival.
Traditionally, the greatest interest the visitors showed in the evening programme with Pavol Barabáš. Attractive festival events were held in Záhrada (Center for Independent Culture) in Banska Bystrica. All festival cities prepared a rich programme for festival visitors but it were mainly competing films, which were of a very high quality this year, that attracted attention.

The 18th Envirofilm will end on Saturday the 19th May at the SNP Museum in Banská Bystrica by screening the prize winning films.

The International Environmental Film Festival ENVIROFILM was established in 1995. The Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic is the promulgator and the Slovak Environmental Agency and the non-profit organisation Envirofilm, n. o.  are the organisers of the festival.