67th BRNO16 awarded its winners
This year’s edition of the International Film Festival BRNO16 knows its winners. On Saturday evening of October 17, the winning films of the International Competition and Czecho-Slovak 16 were announced as a part of the closing ceremony. The International Jury presented the Main Award to Irene Baqué’s short film, Mal de Madre.
The Winners of the International Competition
“For its sensitive exploration of inheriting traditions and womanhood, the jury wishes to award a film that beautifully moves between documentary and fiction, between superstition and reality, infused with both ethnographic and magical elements. In a teenage bedroom, centuries-old celebrations and the contemporary rituals of Gen Z share the same space. Through its atmospheric direction, which does not require many words from its protagonist, it conveys the delicate tension of belonging to a world shaped by generations before her, and having the courage to find her place within it. This folkloric story reminds us how deeply our identities are rooted in the memories, beliefs, and tales passed down to us. The BRNO16 Main Award goes to Mal de Madre,“ the International Jury of Irena Pustina Kocí, Loes van Keulen, and Stavros Markoulakis explain their pick.
Together with the Main Award, the jury also grants three honourable mentions. This year, they went to the director Ante Pask for her film Peckerhead, Leo Černic for Cosmonauts, and Mandana Ferdos for Farnaz.
All 33 shorts screened as a part of this year’s International Competition were also assessed by the FAV Student Jury that presented the Učit Brno Award. Johana Kozáková, Kryštof Milanovský, and Tereza Porošinová comment on their choice: “As the student jury, we decided to highlight a film that captivated us with its intimate story and atmosphere. In it, the filmmaker demonstrated an incredible directorial flair for storytelling through subtlety, visual narrative, and working with actors. We have no doubt that we will be hearing a lot more from the filmmaker behind this film and that her future films will continue to win awards at festivals to come: Small Death by Mushi Cai.“
As in previous years, the festival viewers voted for the winner of the Davídkovo koření Award. Seun Yee’s short film Boundaries received the most votes.
Czecho-Slovak 16 Competition
Eliška Děcká, Vladimir Nadein, and Jakub Podmanický, the International Jury of Czecho-Slovak 16, the Czech and Slovak short films competition, awarded the MSI Award to the film How to Listen to Fountains, explaining: „We appreciate this film for its ability to convey dramaturgy and emotion through the depiction of urban landscape and sound design. The film celebrates the short film form through its evolving narration, structure and choreography. It accomplishes to capture the socioeconomic phenomena of gentrification and resists it through paying attention to overlooked spaces. The best film award goes to How to Listen to Fountains by Eva Sajanová.“
The jury of the Czecho-Slovak 16 gave the honourable mention to the movie Greetings from Rhodes by Viera Čákanyová.
The 67th edition of the International Film Festival BRNO16 will take place on October 11–17, 2027. BRNO16 pořádá TIC BRNO, příspěvková organizace, jmenovitě Kino Art.
