After a great success at the Sarajevo Film Festival and a number of other prestigious international festivals, the Macedonian feature film “17”, directed by Kosara Mitikj, won the Golden Mimosa for direction at the 39th Herceg Novi Film Festival – one of the festivals with the longest tradition in the region.
This recognition comes just a few days after a great success in Sarajevo, where the film “17” won four awards, including the Heart of Sarajevo for best actress, for Eva Kostikj.
The awards in Herceg Novi were decided by an international jury, led by Alisa Simon, film critic for Variety and chief programmer of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and which also included Elena Christodoulidou, Sebastian Kavac, Ljiljana Blagojević and Draško Đurović.
In explaining Kosara Mitikj’s award, the jury highlighted her exceptional directorial style and the great emotional power conveyed through the film’s narrative.
Inspired by a true event, the film, “17”, follows Sara, a seventeen-year-old girl who tries to hide her pregnancy during a prom excursion. Through her story, the film opens up themes of trauma, silence, isolation and female solidarity, creating an intimate portrait of adolescence.
The film’s success so far, with 11 international awards, is an important confirmation of its quality and a good basis for further positioning before an international audience,” said Tomi Salkovski, producer of the “17” film.
Kosara Mitikj’s debut film had its world premiere at the 76th Berlin Film Festival, in the Perspectives selection.
