Awards for 2015
CPH:DOX Award
WINNER
God Bless the Child: Robert Machoian,
Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck
"Establishing an otherworldly tone of extraordinary realism and a near magical evocation of family dynamics, the winning film reveals a mastery of observational rigor, and an uncanny willingness to expand the limits of documentary form. More simply, this is a film that immediately inspired us to spread the film as far and wide as possible, and in that spirit, we're thrilled to present the Dox:Award to 'God Bless The Child', by Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck."
IN-COMPETITION
CPH:DOX Award - Honorable Mention
WINNER
Uncertain: Ewan McNicol,
Anna Sandilands
"The jury is pleased to recognize this lyrically composed, structurally innovative exploration of the documentary imperative to shed light onto unseen corners. Beautifully investigating the relationships between people and place, physical and emotional environment, past, present, and future, the special mention goes to 'Uncertain' by Ewan McNicol & Anna Sandilands"
New Vision Award
WINNERS
Bending to Earth: Rosa Barba
"In Rosa Barba's 'Bending to Earth' we are simultaneously transported to the past and the future as the present lurks in their shadows. A clinic but strange timelessness comes out of this folding together of time. Dinosaurs and drones could meet in this entropy. The layering of the brilliant soundtrack, the evocative script and the beautifully dizzying 35mm imagery construct a cinematic gem about our present's perpetual confusion and the future's uncertainty. Rosa Barba's film "Bending to Earth" will keep on haunting us."
The Digger: Ali Cherri
"A highly-reduced formalism and precise composition of sequences deprived of dialogue characterise Ali Cherri's 'The Digger'. The enigmatic lyricism of the opening quote about the grave before becoming a grave speaks of absence and its unsettling eternal presence, highly evident in the arid landscape and the mirrored civilization on its horizon. Cherri's tightly constructed portrait of a man and the desolate emptiness of which he is the caretaker is a perfect reflection on many contemporary realities."
IN-COMPETITION
Politiken's Audience Award
WINNER
IN-COMPETITION
F:ACT Award
WINNER
Among the Believers: Hemal Trivedi,
Mohammed Naqvi
"For its ability to show us a country with complex political situation, for unprecedented access to part of its educational system with far reaching consequences and to the dedication the filmmakers have shown in the following the story the jury has decided to give CPH:DOX F:ACT Award to "Among the believers" by Hemal Trivedi & Mohammed Ali Nagvi.
IN-COMPETITION
Reel Talent Award
WINNER
Songs for Alexis: Elvira Lind
"The director who is to receive this recognition has a short but impressive filmography that gives hope for future work. She - yes, it is a she - has demonstrated that she is able to get close, to deal with sensitive matters in a gentle and respectful way, to build a story so it comes out as an engaging drama that is much stronger than many feature films. I guess that many of you watched the film at CPH:DOX last year. She is in the process of making a new film that was presented recently on the Nordisk Panorama it was very well presented. Also that film will have an international career. Let me give you the titles - the finished film is "Songs for Alexis", the one coming up is "Bobby Jene". So ladies and gentlemen, the winner, a true documentary talent - Elvira Lind."
F:ACT Award - Honorable Mention
WINNER
(T)ERROR: Lyric R. Cabral,
David Felix Sutcliffe
"The jury would also like to give a special mention to (T)error (by Lyric R. Cabral & David Felix Sutcliffe) because of the way it raises awareness of the invasion of civil liberty that are going on in the western world lately, and more so due to its exceptional access."
Nordic Dox Award - Honorable Mention
WINNER
Time Passes: Ane Hjort Guttu
"We want to give a special mention to Time Passes by the Norwegian artist and film maker Ane Hjort Guttu. Insistent and calmly dramatic, Time Passes uses students at an art school in Bergen preparing for their graduation exhibition to look at broader ideas about how the individual is so often formed, developed and changed by the institutions they belong to - or are prohibited from - and the social and ethical anxieties we all grapple with in our day-to-day lives, as we dream and hope, change and transform."
Nordic Dox Award
WINNER
The Return of the Atom: Mika Taanila,
Jussi Eerola
"The winner of the 2015 CPH DOX Nordic award is Return of the Atom, directed by Mika Taanila and Jussi Eerola. Shot over eight years by the Finnish duo, Return of the Atom looks at how the bureaucratic might of a massive scale European construction project impacts on the inhabitants of a small community. With clarity and sense of purpose, Return of the Atom convincingly travels through the broad scales and global registers of the ramifications of building nuclear power stations in a post-Chernobyl world where decisions made by one nation or group can be potentially fatal for everyone else on our shared planet. From the individual characters who are confronted with a choice to either embrace the financial rewards of living in a nuclear town or try to resist the environmental and health dangers harnessing the atom brings, to the lazy and entropic bureaucratic labyrinth that accompanies such a megalithic project, Return of the Atom is in turns sensitive, satirical, critical and bemused, taking a complex, rarely discussed topic and creating a serious but engaging, subtle and poised film."
IN-COMPETITION