Two projects of former winners at the Cannes Film Festival

During the closing ceremony this weekend on the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière, the jury of the Cannes Film Festival met to announce the 74th annual winners of this most prestigious film festival. Cinema alumni Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović ’17 and Franck Graziano ’18 received the Camera d’Or for Murina, and former student Jasmin Freitas Tenucci ’20 received a special mention from the jury for its short film, Céu de Agosto (August sky).

Murina, co-written by Kusijanović and Graziano and directed by Kusijanović, follows a small family made up of young mother Nela, teenager Julija and strict father Ante. The family universe on a Croatian island is cradled by the visit of an old friend of the family. As Ante becomes absorbed in a land transaction, Nela and Julija must deal with their complex relationship with the stranger’s presence in their home.

Kusijanović, who gave birth to her first child this weekend, was represented by Graziano at the awards ceremony. According to Graziano, “Just being there in the room was a dream come true in itself. Even after seeing all the photographers and stepping out to catch my breath, I still couldn’t believe what I had there in. my hand. This week has been a fairy tale for Antoneta. Her film came to Cannes, she had her first child, and now she won the Camera d’Or. So much emotion, and a lot of pride. ”

The award was presented by Mélanie Thierry, President of the Camera d’Or, who declared: “Films are a passport to the world. They take you around the world. that come up again and again, like family, political issues, women’s empowerment. Murina is inspired by myth and goddesses, and there is something quite dazzling, mysterious and poetic about it. [Kusijanović] shoots the seabed in a way that has never been shown before. We were fascinated by his movie, and we all felt the same about him. It was naturally fair. ”

Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic is a Dubrovnik-born New York-based writer-director. Its short, In the blue, has been nominated for a Student Academy Award and won awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival, Oberhausen Film Festival and Angers Festival de Premier Plans, among others. Murina is Antoneta’s first feature film, developed with the support of the Résidence du Festival Cannes, the Cinéfondation, First Films First from the Goethe-Institut and the Jerusalem Film Lab. She holds an MA from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb and an MA in Screenwriting and Directing from Columbia University in New York. Antoneta is an alumnus of the Berlinale Talent Lab, Sarajevo Talent Lab, La Femis Producing Atelier and the Marcie Bloom Fellowship.

Frank Graziano is a New York-based screenwriter and director whose films explore the stories of the contemporary American city. He is the creator of the documentary series Feel my pain, which follows four of New York’s most notorious gangsters of the 1990s as they prepare for a play about their lives. Graziano is also a founding partner of Unwashed Films and holds an MFA in Directing from Columbia University.

The short movie, Céu de Agosto (August sky) also won an award. Céu de Agosto was co-written and directed by Tenucci, along with other former collaborators Saïm Sadiq ’19 (co-writer) Kari Úlfsson ’20 (producer), Fernanda Rubbed ’17 (editor) and Brúsi Ólason ’20 (editor). The short follows a heavily pregnant nurse whose increasing levels of anxiety cause a magnetic attraction to a member of the Pentecostal church. The film received a special mention from the jury after being shortlisted for the Palme d’Or for short film from more than 3,700 submissions to the selection committee.