51st International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
27 October – 2 November 2008

Festival homepage

The Ecumenical Film Prize is awarded to

El Olvido (Oblivion)
directed by Heddy Honigmann,
The Netherlands, Germany 2008

Waiters, shoeshine boys, girls performing feats at a crossroads – in the megalopolis of Lima they usually go unnoticed. Heddy Honigmann does pay attention to them. Her film makes the dignity and charm of the overlooked visible: They are the secret heart of the town. With deep empathy and her lovingly shot images, the director lets her protagonists talk about their lives. Nothing more is needed to reveal the absurdity and injustice of the political situation.

The jury was composed of:
Pier Mario Mignone (Italy), SIGNIS
Lothar Strüber (Germany), SIGNIS
Françoise Lods (France), INTERFILM
Angelika Obert (Germany), INTERFILM