DocNomads film awarded in Full Frame and Aubagne
Aylin Gökmen´s graduation film SPIRITS AND ROCKS: AN AZOREAN MYTH, which premiered in Locarno in August of last year, won the President’s Award at the 24th Full Frame Documentary Film Festival (North Carolina, USA). Sponsored by the Duke University, the prize recognizes up-and-coming filmmakers and is awarded to the best student film.
The film also won the Prize Mathieu-Hoche for Best Documentary at Aubagne International Film Festival (France).
Jury statement: “The 2021 Full Frame President’s Award is presented to Spirits and Rocks: an Azorean Myth, directed by Aylin Gökmen. Against the backdrop of an active volcano, this evocative film considers the imprint of trauma on an island’s natural landscape and on the people who call it home. At once rigorous and poetic, the film deftly employs narration, text, and stunning cinematography to reveal the spirituality and strength involved in surviving alongside instability.”
By Aylin Gökmen • 14' • Portugal, Switzerland
Synopsis:
From the ocean, a volcanic island rises into steamy mist. The black rock of the earth stands in sharp contrast to the billowing vapor that hovers and drifts above the surface. A narrator describes how the island’s first inhabitants sought to explain the violent eruption by attributing the devastation to the wrath of angry gods. With breathtaking black-and-white cinematography, this poetic exploration considers the human relationship to this volatile land, where residents live alongside the looming threat of eruption with reverence, fear, and awe. A collection of scenes where dark and light miraculously coexist illuminates both the physical and spiritual landscapes of this extraordinary place, where life endures the perils of the natural world.
In Full Frame catalogue
Previously presented in:
- Locarno Film Festival / Switzerland
- Sundance Film Festival / USA
- Go Short Int. Short Film Festival / Netherlands
- Vilnius International Film Festival / Lithuania
- True/False Film Festival / USA
- Trento Film Festival / Italy
- Akbank Short Film Festival / Turkey
- Solothurner Filmtage / Switzerland
- Festival International du Film d’Aubagne / France
- Ashland Independent Film Festival / USA
- Kyiv Int. Film Festival "Molodist" / Ukraine
- Moscow Int. Documentary Festival DOKer / Russia