January 26, 2022 (SIGNIS / INTERFILM). At the Saarbrucken Film Festival in Germany, the Ecumenical Jury has awarded its Prize to Moneyboys, directed by C.B. Yi (Austria, France, Belgium, Taiwan, 2022).
The Jury found the film captivating with its chronological narrative and dramatisation of the contrasts between a traditional “rural idyll” and an anonymous big city. The rhythm and bustle of the city are counteracted by the supposedly quiet and harmonious home village. The longing for the comfort and safety the protagonist feels amongst his family ends in a violent reproach of blame that forces him to go back to the anonymity of the city. The deliberate use of colour, music and visual aesthetics powerfully underlines the dynamics behind using your own body to make money fast whilst on a precarious path to the Chinese upper class.
The members of the Jury were Tom Damm (Germany, President), Sabrina Maas (Germany), Alexandra Palkowitsch (Austria), and Wolf-Dieter Scheid (Germany).
The 43rd Max Ophüls Preis Film Festival opened on January 16 in a hybrid form in cinemas on-site and with streaming offers. The feature film competition comprised ten entries from which the Ecumenical Jury chose its Prize winner. Other competition sections were dedicated to medium-length films, documentaries and short films.
