ROMANIAN director Radu Jude’s powerful story of a 1941 atrocity carried about by the country’s military “I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History As Barbarians” won the grand prix at the closing of the 53rd edition of the Karlovy Vary international film festival Saturday.

A prescient warning of the dangers of fascism in Europe — in a continent where anti-immigrant extremist populist governments in Hungary, Poland and Italy are already causing controversy — the film also won the non-statutory Europa Cinemas Label Award for best European film.

The festival’s Crystal Globe for the film came with a US$25,000 prize purse.

The main competition jury also made a US$15,000 special prize for Ana Katz’s Argentine/Brazil/France co-production “Sueno Florianopolis,” about a dysfunctional family’s summer beach holiday. The film’s Mercedes Moran picked up best actress. Best director went to Olmo Omerzu for Czech co-production “Winter Flies.”

Moshe Folkenflik won best actor for his role in Israeli film “Redemption” and there were special jury mentions for Russian director Ivan Tverdovskiy’s “Jumpman” and Slovenian director Sonja Prosenc’s “History of Love.”

In the festival’s eastern Europe-focused East of the West competition, the US$15,000 grand prix went to Kyrgyz director Elizaveta Stishova’s vivid portrayal of a fractured family trying to learn to live together, “Suleiman Mountain.” There was also a special jury prize of US$10,000 for Hungarian director Laszlo Csuja’s coming of age road story “Blossom Valley.”

At the festival’s closing Saturday night, British actor Robert Pattinson was honored with the prestigious Festival President’s Award, handed over by Karlovy Vary topper, Czech actor Jiri Bartoska. The 54th edition of the Karlovy Vary IFF is due to take place June 28-July 6, 2019.

(SD-Agencies)