Founded in Turin in 1998, CinemAmbiente Festival presents the most important international films and documentaries addressing environmental issues, while also carrying out year-round activities promoting cinema and ecological culture. Founded and directed by Gaetano Capizzi, the festival is one of Italy’s key film events devoted to the relationship between human beings, society and the environment. It is also a founding member of the Green Film Network, an association bringing together the most important international film festivals with an ecological focus.
The jury’s motive is as follows:
“Pictures tell, and they encompass, meanings that go beyond what is seen. The film brings to light what is actually invisible in our everyday lives. The sensations communicated by the still, unsearchable and seemingly neglected look with which the child of the protagonist observes the landscape around him communicates a subtle sadness behind which one introduces the desire to understand and perhaps change, if not the whole world, at least his destiny”.
For “Silver”, this is another award in what is already an impressive festival record. Natalia Koniarz’s film had previously received, among others, two distinctions at the 22nd ZagrebDox – International Documentary Film Festival: the Little Stamp Award for the best film by a young filmmaker and a Special Mention in the festival’s international competition.
The documentary was also awarded Best Director in the Baltic Focus competition at the International Documentary Film Festival IDFF Artdocfest/Riga. The film’s cinematographer, Stanisław Cuske, received the PSC Award of the Polish Society of Cinematographers in the documentary category for his work on the film. “Silver” has also won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at Slamdance, where it had its U.S. premiere, and had previously been recognised several times, including at Ji.hlava and the Krakow Film Festival. In total, the film has already won 16 awards.
“Silver” takes viewers deep inside the oldest silver mine in Bolivia. In the silence and darkness of a trembling mountain, the underground world is revealed through the eyes of a boy, an old miner and a woman. Where everyday labour intertwines with the weight of history, a story emerges about colonial legacy, social exclusion and an endless cycle of exploitation.
More information can be found here.