A new award was presented for the first time at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival: the Prix Cineplexx, established by the Festival in partnership with Cineplexx, the leading cinema chain in Southeast Europe. The award, presented to the best film in the Open Air Premiere programme, went to The Widower,directed by Hari Šečić.
“I think an audience award should always be connected to movie theaters. A festival has several places to show films: open-air screenings, special events in unique locations, and regular cinemas where everyday screenings take place. And that’s where Cineplexx can step in,” said Christof Papousek, co-owner and CFO of Cineplexx International.
“We see ourselves as the leading cinema group in the region, and we want to support domestic film production. Our goal is to bring movies to people in our venues, to audiences all around. That’s why we’re involved, why we’re donating this award, and why it’s so relevant for us. We’re very proud to partner with the festival and, for the first time, to present this award,” said Papousek.
“We launched this programme for new films from our region that we believe have the potential for a substantial theatrical life and to reach wider audiences. We wanted to give them a major festival screen, Sarajevo’s large and enthusiastic audience, and a strong start on their journey towards cinemas across the region. And it seems to me that this first edition has shown we were right. The audience responded extremely well, several films received truly excellent ratings, and ultimately the winner was decided by the finest of margins. For the first year of an entirely new programme, I do not think we could have hoped for a better outcome,” said Jovan Marjanović, Director of the Sarajevo Film Festival.
The Widower won the Prixx Cineplexx with an average audience rating of 4.746.
The Prixx Cineplexx is awarded to the best film in the Open Air Premiere programme, as selected by the Festival audience. The award is valued at EUR 20,000: EUR 15,000 in services for a marketing campaign in Cineplexx cinemas supporting the theatrical release of the winning film, and EUR 5,000 in cash. The award is presented to the producer of the winning film.
In second place is The Virus of Pathological Kindnessby Predrag Ličina (4,649), while The Lost Son by Darko Štante ranks third (4,606).
