07/09/2018

Sudabeh Mortezai wins Europa Cinemas Venice Label

Sudabeh Mortezai's Joy (Austria) has won the Europa Cinemas Label as Best European Film in the Giornate degli Autori section of the Venice Film Festival, it was announced today by a jury of four Europa Cinemas Network exhibitors. 2018 marks the fifteenth time the Label has been awarded in Venice.

In receiving the Label, Joy will benefit from promotional support from Europa Cinemas and better exhibition thanks to a financial incentive for network cinemas to include it in their programming schedule.

The Jury consisted of: Klara Bogusławska (Kinoteka Multiplex, Warsaw, Poland), Mathieu Guetta (Director, Majestic Bastille, Paris, France); Ezio Leoni (Manager, Il Lux, Padua, Italy) and Christine Müh (Managing Director, Kommunales Kino, Pforzheim, Germany).

The jury issued the following statement:

"Joy is an exceptionally well researched and moving film about sex trafficking - a plague affecting all of Europe. The film has a documentary feel to it, and its authenticity and credibility shine through. We get a strong sense of Joy's everyday life, her struggles and her dignity among the complex power dynamics of her life in a universe parallel to our own. This film will spark debate wherever it is seen, and we are delighted that the Europa Cinemas Label prize will help encourage its distribution around Europe."

Previous winners of the Europa Cinemas Label in Venice:

2017 M, France

2016 Sameblod, Sweden

2015 A peine j'ouvre les yeux, France

2014 I nostri ragazzi, Italy

2013 La belle vie, France

2012 Crawl, France

2011 Présumé coupable, France

2010 Le bruit des glaçons, France

2009 De laatste dagen van Emma Blank, Netherlands

2008 Machan, Italy

2007 Sztuczki, Poland

2006 Azul Oscuro Casi Negro, Spain

2005 Le petit lieutenant, France

2004 Darwin's Nightmare, Austria