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The Ecumenical Jury of the 11th International Film Festival in Bratislava, appointed by INTERFILM and SIGNIS, awards the Ecumenical Film Prize to the film

Eastern Plays
by Kamen Kalev, Bulgaria/Sweden, 2009

Motivation:
The film  tells a story of two brothers from Sofia, living an unbearable situation: family and society isolation, superficial relations, alcoholism, hooliganism, violence and racism. A series of meetings with a young Turkish woman (love) and a mysterious old man (faith) reveals the possibility of change. This life-affirming film doesn’t propose a simple solution, yet it offers a message of hope.
 
In addition the jury awards a Commendation to the film

Ilusiones opticas (Optical Illusions) 
by Cristián Jiménez, Chile/France, 2009

Motivation:
The film portrays in a grotesque manner several characters trapped in two representative modern institutions: a shopping mall and a private insurance company. The protagonists learn to reject their blind faith in the illusions that enslave them through false promises of happiness, thus discovering the importance of what we really are.

Members of the Jury:
Elena Jancušková, Prešov (Slovakia)
Dirk von Jutrczenka, Bremen (Germany)
Marek Lis, Opole (Poland)