Film Award Global Perspectives
Belgian rapper and filmmaker Baloji was honoured with the Global Perspectives Film Award for his feature film OMEN. The award ceremony took place as part of the Global Perspectives Film Festival at the Evangelische Akademie in Frankfurt.
For the first time, the Film Days cooperated with a youth film jury of the German Film and Media Rating (FBW). Three 17-year-olds selected their winner from six nominated feature and documentary films in the run-up to the event and chose the film for the most outstanding artistic achievement. The €1,000 director's prize was donated by Misereor.
In the film OMEN by Belgian-Congolese rapper Baloji, Koffie (Marc Zinga) is seen as a zabolo – a magician. He was disowned by his mother. After an absence of 15 years, he returns to Lubumbashi. Accompanied by his future wife Alice (Lucie Debay), he is confronted with the prejudices and mistrust of those around him.
„OMEN by Baloij captivated us as it tells the stories of the main characters in a breathtaking and cinematographically successful way. The acting, the costumes and the music create an atmosphere that will stay with you. The film conveys the conflicts and traumas of many generations, as well as their culture and spirituality. OMEN mixes fairy-tale content with harsh reality and is full of unforgettable images of people and their stories that need to be told and that broaden our horizons,“ said the youth film jury.
In a video message posted directly from the Cannes Film Festival, the winner Baloji expressed his delight at receiving the award. Theo Severin from the German distribution and production company Grandfilm accepted the award on his behalf. The director of the Film Festival, Andrea Wenzek, emphasised: „The Global Perspectives Film Prize is also intended to encourage German distributors to continue bringing films from or about the Global South to the cinema. The jury's decision shows that young people are interested in these films too.“
Honourable mention: ICH CAPITANO by Matheo Garrone
„In ICH CAPITANO, the dangers and brutality in the various situations that Seydou and Moussa have to face on their escape are portrayed so convincingly that the viewer feels as if they are standing right next to them. The two main actors, who were in front of the camera for the first time, embody their roles with such authenticity that you suffer with them and also rejoice with them,“ said the youth jury.
In Matheo Garrone's feature film, Seydou (Seydou Sarr) and Moussa (Moustapha Fall) dream of becoming famous and making money as musicians in Europe. So the two teenagers decide to leave Senegal for Italy.
Since 2001, a jury has been honouring filmmakers whose works convincingly draw attention to the realities of life in the countries of the Global South and enable the audience to change their perspective. In 2024, a youth film jury of the German Film and Media Rating Board (FBW) awarded a cinema film for the first time.
The detailed statement of the youth film jury will be published soon…
The nominated films
DAS LEERE GRAB by Agnes Lisa Wegner & Cece Mlay; Tanzania, Germany 2024, 97 min; Distributor: Salzgeber
DIE LIEBE IN UNGLEICHEN ZEITEN by Amil Shivji; Tanzania, South Africa, Germany, Qatar 2023, 84 min; jip film & verleih
ICH CAPITANO by Matteo Garrone; Belgium, Italy 2023; 121 min; X Verleih
OMEN by Baloji; Congo, Belgium 2023; 92 min; Distributor: Grandfilm
PROVISORIUM by Markus Lenz, Germany, Colombia 2023; 95 min.
Info see programme
THEATRE OF VIOLENCE by Likasz Konopa & Emil Langballe; Denmark, Germany 2023; 104 min.; Distributor: Cine Global
Special recommendations:
Production companies, TV editors, distribution companies, film schools and film authors submitted numerous productions for cinema, television and the web in 2024 that were made after 1 January 2022. This includes all forms of moving images that can be shown in the context of non-commercial and commercial film and educational work.
Around 20 of the submitted productions will be recommended in detail by an expert jury for global educational and film knowledge transfer and subsequently promoted. A selection of the recommended films was shown during the Film Days.
The recommendations will be announced after the Film Days.