(MENAFN- Arab Times) "Babai," which has its international premiere in competition at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival this week, was the big winner at the Munich Film Festival's German Cinema New Talent Awards on Friday, although it missed out on the main award for best film. The jury described "Babai" as a "masterpiece."
The director award went to "Babai's" Visar Morina, who is from Kosovo but moved to Germany as a child. His feature debut tells the story of 10-year-old Nori, who lives in Kosovo. His father Gezim dominates his world, however, one day Gezim leaves for work in Germany. Nori refuses to accept this sudden disappearance.
"The film forces us to cry - tears of rage, helplessness and mourning - and then casts us back into life full of hope, even more strength and especially responsibility. Responsibility for our lives. For life itself. The lives people live. With each other. 'Babai' is a masterpiece from a young master for whom we have great respect and gratitude," said the jury.
Morina also took the screenplay award. The jury said: "When all the fears of failure finally disappear. The fear of not being good enough. Of being ostracized and alone. When all the wrong things don't mean anything, a soft voice can be heard. Precious and shy. Relentless, not sugary in the least - but full of truth and love. 'Babai' is written in this voice from the very first to the very last line. It had us spellbound, moved and overwhelmed," the jury said.
And the film took the award for actor, which was shared by Astrit Kabashi and Val Maloku, who - in their first film roles - play the father and son. They "convinced and moved us," said the jury. "How the son, like a small adult, confronts his father for leaving him, for betraying him by leaving for Germany without him, just 'beat it,' is unforgettable. The father, on the other hand, is torn between his understandable desire for a new chance in life, and his feelings for his son, who forces him to take responsibility and fulfill his obligations as a father," the jury added.
Naturally
"Both of them perform so naturally, it is almost as if it was their own story. Through them, we understand what happens to people when their desire to live a normal life of self-determination remains unfulfilled, and they have to struggle to make that wish come true," the jury said, adding Maloku and Kabashi's performances "startled and touched us to the core." The movie is produced by Nicole Gerhards for NiKo Film.
The top film award went to producers Sonja Ewers and Steve Hudson of Cologne-based Gringo Films for comedy "Happy Hour." The movie, which was directed by Franz Muller, "blew away the entire jury and was absolutely impressive on all levels," said the jury. It follows a warmhearted group of 40-something friends on a journey of self-discovery in Ireland.
"This witty and wise comedy stands out because of its first-rate screenplay, perfect timing, a brilliant sense of humor, charm and marvelous camera work," the jury said. "A successful low-budget production through and through with a brilliant cast that will have great potential at the box office."
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LOS ANGELES: New details about the upcoming "Spider-Man" reboot continue to emerge. In addition to the recent casting news that Tom Holland will play Peter Parker, Marvel honcho Kevin Feige has revealed that the new film will explore Spider-Man in a firmly high-school setting.
"Spider-Man will be a 'John Hughes' movie," Feige said in an interview with SlashFilm.
He added that Spidey's age will set him apart from other Marvel characters. "Some of my favorite Spider-Man arcs and Spider-Man stories, he's in high school for a lot of it. We want to explore that. That also makes him very, very different from any of our other characters in the MCU, which is something else we want to explore: how unique he is when now put against all these other characters."
In an interview with Collider, Feige elaborated on the idea of pitting Parker against the other superheroes. Holland read against Robert Downey, Jr in a screen test, and reportedly held his own, which helped him cinch the part. "That was part of it," Feige said. "When we'll see that, I don't know, but that was part of it."
The Spidey reboot is likely to feature a comic-book villain who hasn't been in any of the previous movies. "Right now we're interested in seeing villains we haven't seen before," Feige told SlashFilm.
Feige also shared his rationale behind hiring Jon Watts to direct.
"We met with him four, five, or six times, and each time he had more and more interesting things to say," Feige told Collider. "And at Marvel, it always comes down to ultimately, 'We can make a movie with this person for two years, we could spend almost every day with this person for two years. Let's go.'"
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