Two student films awarded at San Sebastian

After five days of screenings and Masterclasses with international renowned directors and producers the 16th International Film Student Meeting awarded two shorts from Israel and Germany.

The Meeting brought together 14 teams from film schools worldwide during the 65th San Sebastián International Film Festival and was jointly organized by the festival and the Tabakalera-International Centre for Contemporary Culture.

The Panavision Award went to the Israeli production 212 by director Boaz Frankel from the Sam Spiegel Film and TV School- Jerusalem (JSFS). The screenplay for the short film ,written by Frankel, revolves around the standard procedures after death as the film follows the  work at a municipal home for the aged. With renowned Israeli actor Moshe Ivgy in the lead, the film finds the comic and even banal in death. 

The Panavision Award offers Panavision equipment worth up to 10 000€ for the next shoot. The jury was chaired by José Luis Torres Leiva, who won the FIPRESCI prize in 2008 at the International Film Festival Rotterdam for his drama The Sky, the Earth and the Rain. The Chilean director honoured Boaz Frankel's work “for its precision in emotion and tone, rich performances and strong direction, walking a thin line between pathos and humour to create a universal work of cinema.”

Torre Leiva gave a special mention to the German short Zeit Der Unruhe / News 23/06/2016 which furthermore received the Orona Award for the most cutting – edge short film.

The jury - consisting of students coming from the Universidad de Mondragón (HUHEZI) - praised Elsa Rosengren's film “for its deconstruction of the authority of a newscast through satire and innovative interpretation techniques.”

The Swedish director juxtaposes the news broadcasting of the crucial day in European politics: 23rd June 2016. With the critical referendum underway in Britain, the American presidential campaign making further headlines Rosengren focuses on a German newscast

Elsa Rosengren currently studies directing at the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin – DFFB. As in her previous shorts - such as Marionette and Maria and the Globe (both 2012) - Zeit Der Unruhe / News 23/06/2016 was shot on 16mm.