The record-breaking 19th edition of the Cinematik International Film Festival has its winners

On Sunday 15 September, the 19th edition of the Cinematik International Film Festival came to an end in the evening. Seven festival cinemas screened a total of almost 100 feature and short films, often in hopelessly sold-out theatres. The festival’s attendance set further records. The international competition, Meeting Point Europe, presents a selection of the best that has emerged in the field of European feature films over the past year. The winners are decided by an expert jury of 15 FIPRESCI film critics.

Among the nominees there were also several holders of prestigious awards from world festivals, as well as prominent national representatives. This year’s Cinematik jury finally announced the British co-production The Substance (2024) by Coralie Fargeat as the winner of the Meeting Point Europe award. Aging TV star Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is given the opportunity to try a miracle substance that can make her younger, prettier and more perfect. But there’s a catch – she has to share her time. One week for her, one for her new self – Sue (Margaret Qualley). This extraordinary work of modern cinema was seen by nearly a thousand viewers at the festival.

The festival’s audience chose their winner from all the films by voting and evaluation. The Audience Award of the 19th edition of Cinematik went to the American-British-Georgian film Tatami (Tatami, 2023) by the director duo Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv. Iranian judoka Leila (Arienne Mandi) and her coach Maryam (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) travel to the World Judo Championships with the goal of bringing home Iran’s first gold medal. Halfway through the championships, they are ordered by the Islamic Republic to have Leila fake an injury and lose or she will be branded a traitor to the state. With her freedom and that of her family at stake, she faces an impossible choice: submit to the Iranian regime, as her coach pleads with her, or fight for the gold.

The second Cinematik competition, Cinematik.doc, is fishing in domestic waters – only Slovak documentary filmmakers compete for prizes with their new films. The winner of the Cinematik.doc Literary Fund Award is Daniela Meressa Rusnoková for her title The Grey Zone (2024). The film is a cinematic essay, a personal story, a tribute to mothers and families of premature babies, at-risk newborns and the vulnerable disadvantaged. The jury awarded the prize for “An extremely convincing, sensitive and personal portrayal of the subject of motherhood and the care of premature babies, the everyday aspects of which remain mostly invisible to society.”

The Mayor of Piešt’any Award went to director Paula Ďurinová for her documentary Lapilli (2024). The documentary is an intimate journey that digs deep into the hard stuff. Wandering through diverse rocky landscapes, the director comes to terms with the sudden loss of her grandparents. The jury’s statement: “The film is commended for pushing the boundaries of audiovisual storytelling towards poetry and philosophy, and for its inventive depiction of the grieving process in which individual human time is measured against the Earth’s geological time.”

The 20th edition of the Cinematik IFF will take place in Piešt’any from 10 to 15 September 2025.