Ukraine’s ‘Tribe’ Wins Out at Motovun Festival

A movie from troubled Ukraine, “The tribe”, [“Plemya”] has won the traditional Propeller award at the 17th Motovun Film Festival, MFF, in Croatia, which wound up on Wednesday evening.

A total of 136 movies from 44 countries were shown over the five days of the film festival in Croatia’s northwest Istria region,

Directed by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, the film - entirely in sign language and subtitles - focuses on the life of a teenager at a boarding school for the deaf in Kiev and his struggle to rise up the ranks of a school gang.

Jury member Inna Schevchenko said “Tribe” won the top award because of its “multiple layers… Although you cannot hear a single word, the audience can understand the conversations between the deaf through the coldness and aggression they express...

“‘Tribe’ deals with important social issues, drowning us in a world of aggression, violence, repression, weaknesses, despair, love and passion in the process,” Schevchenko said.

The international jury meanwhile gace the movie “Force Majeure”, directed Ruben Ostlund, in a joint Danish, French, Norwegian and Swedish production, the FIPRESCI award.

This film centres on a Swedish family in the Alps and analyses the role of men in modern family life.

The MFF has become a symbol of Croatian cultural life over the years, at the same time as reviving the small historic hilltop town in which it is set.

The combination of an activist approach, as seen by the jury selections, along with more commercial aspects, like concerts and theme parties, has proved a winning formula.

MFF is financed from various sources, including the local municipality, the county of Istria, the Croatian state, EU funds and private companies...