James Longley’s Mohabat won the Opus Bonum competition at the Ji.hlava documentary festival. The film follows a twelve-year-old boy after his father’s death in a drone attack. The October 31 awards also recognized Songs From Within, while Barbara Forever won Testimonies and After the Rehearsal won First Lights.
James Longley’s Mohabat won the main Opus Bonum competition at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival in Czechia. The awards were announced on October 31. Mohammad Sharif Hotak, Longley and Alex Gibney are among the film’s producers. The documentary follows a boy whose father died in a drone attack, observing his family and community.[1], [2]
The jury praised the film’s patient observation of school and village life and the boy’s relationship with his two older brothers. Elvis A-Liang Lu’s Songs From Within received a special mention, while Yi-ling Huang won editing for the same film. Nona Giunashvili’s Sacred Songs took the Central and Eastern European prize and Filip Remunda’s Love Exposed won the Visegrad award.[1]
Brydie O’Connor’s Barbara Forever won Testimonies, drawing on fifty years of footage made by Barbara Hammer. Philipp Fröhlich’s After the Rehearsal won First Lights. In Czech Joy, Martin Pav’s Glowing and Nikola Klinger’s Land of Fire shared the main award. Trinh T. Minh-ha received the contribution-to-world-cinema award. FIPRESCI selected Eli Maene’s Journey.[1]
