Skopje, 7 August 2023 (MIA) - The 4th Galichnik Film Festival official closing ceremony took place on Sunday with the announcement of the award winners for the three competitive categories. The audience got to see 33 short films from different countries screened from August 4 through August 6.

Organizers Darma Film said the festival days featured rich content, increased participation interest from the region and beyond, as well as educational workshops held by Dejan Dukovski and Andreja Volkashin.

The jury panel, including actor Sashko Kocev, producer Elena Stanisheva and director Georgi Unkovski, picked the winners. The Grand Prix award of the Galichnik Film Festival 2023 went to Turkish director Kasım Ördek and his film 'Together, Alone'. Ecem Uzun and Mert Doğan, main protagonists of the film, also took the Best Actress and Best Actor awards for their excellent acting, portraying complex human destinies with ease.

Swiss director Zoel Aeschbacher won the Best Sceenplpay award with his short film 'Fairplay'. Greek director Sofia Georgovassili with 'Memoir of a Veering Storm' won the award for Best Director, bravely portraying a sensitive subject through her poetic expression.

Canadian director Lloyd Lee Choi won Best Cinematography with his short film 'Same Old'. The awards for Best Short Film, according to the three festival categories, were presented to 'I Promised You Paradise' by director Morad Mostafa from Egypt who won Best Feature Film, and 'Eva' by Russian director Olga Smirnova won the Best Documentary award, while 'Homebird' by Polish director Ewa Smyk won the Best Animated Film award. 

The Galicnik Film Festival is sponsored by North Macedonia's Film Agency and Halk Bank, and organized by Darma Film and the Galicnik Municipality. ssh/nn/

Photo: Galichnik Film Festival