KARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic — The Ecumenical Jury at the 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, running July 3-11, has given its award to “The Lion at My Back,” directed by Tonia Mishiali.
The film, a co-production of Cyprus, Luxembourg and Greece, follows eighteen-year-old refugee Mariama and her growing bond with Stella, a forty-year-old Cypriot woman. The jury, appointed by SIGNIS and INTERFILM, noted the film’s realistic imagery that shifts into metaphor at key moments, and described its Gospel-like narrative structure: Mariama emerges as a Christ-like figure for those unable to break free from destructive domination on their own.
The jury included Valérie de Marnhac (France), Lukáš Jirsa (Czech Republic) and Dr. Hans-Martin Gutmann (Germany).
