EARTH ALTARS AND AS MELUSINAS À MARGEM DO RIO ARE THE WINNERS OF DOCLISBOA’23

The winners of the 21st edition of Doclisboa, which ends tomorrow, are now known. The awards ceremony took place today at Casa Independente and preceded the culmination of a ten-day marathon of screenings throughout Culturgest, Cinema S. Jorge, Cinemateca Portuguesa and Cinema Ideal – accompanied by various activities, debates and parties, which once again brought the whole world to Lisbon in October.

In the International Competition, which showcases films from different places and cultures, the City of Lisbon Award went to the Mexican earth altars, by Sofía Peypoch, for, in the words of the jury, having the “ability to finely interweave personal history, big History and ancestrality, in a movement in which archaeology as a science lends historical depth to the director’s excavation of intimate trauma”. The RTP International Competition Jury Award was awarded to the Belgian production Terril, by Jorn Plucieniczak, for the “maturity of its approach and the strong formal coherence of this film marked by latency and downtime”. There was also an Honorable Mention for Magnificent Sky, by Alexandru Badea.

As Melusinas à Margem do Rio, Melanie Pereira, 2023

In the Portuguese Competition, the HBO Max Award for Best Film went to As Melusinas à Margem do Rio, by Melanie Pereira, “for creating a form to reimagine a legend though the experience of working people, gender and national identity”; and the Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores Award went to Memories of a Perfect Day, by Davina-Maria El Khoury, “for its lyrical understanding that isolation can be redeemed through creative expression”. The full list of award-winning films is below.

The screening sessions of the award-winning films in this edition of Doclisboa will take place on October 30 and 31 and November 1 at Cinema Ideal.

DOCLISBOA’23 AWARDS 

City of Lisbon Award for Best International Competition Film
earth altars, by Sofía Peypoch

RTP International Competition Jury Award
Terril, by Jorn Plucieniczak

Honorable Mention – International Competition Jury Award
Magnificent Sky, by Alexandru Badea

HBO Max Award for Best Portuguese Competition Film
As Melusinas à Margem do Rio, by Melanie Pereira

Portuguese Society of Authors Competition Jury Award
Memories of a Perfect Day, by Davina-Maria El Khoury

Best Short Film Award
At Night, the Red Sky, by Ali Razi

New Talent Award TV Cine
earth altars, by Sofía Peypoch

Healthy Workplaces Film Award
Hormigas Perplejas, by Mercedes Moncada Rodríguez

Honorable Mention – Healthy Workplaces Film Award
Human, not Human, by Natan Castay

Rights and Freedoms Award Legal Partners Portugal
An Owl, a Garden and the Writer, by Sara Dolatabadi

Honorable Mention – Rights and Freedoms Award Legal Partners Portugal
The Trial, by Ulises de la Orden

INATEL Foundation Award
Fogo no Lodo, by Catarina Laranjeiro and Daniel Barroca

Fernando Lopes Award
As Melusinas à Margem do Rio, by Melanie Pereira

Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts Award for Best Green Years Film
Sparks, by Ève Le Fessant Coussonneau

Pedro Fortes Award for Best Green Years Portuguese Film
By Division and Differentiation, by Carolina Grilo Santos

Honorable Mention – Green Years
Passportless Mess, by Maja Penčič 

Público Newspaper Audience Award for Best Portuguese Film
Verdade ou Consequência?, by Sofia Marques

Schools Award
As Melusinas à Margem do Rio, by Melanie Pereira