Three more prizes for “Arrivederci”

The Moldovan film “Arrivederci” has won three prizes at the International Berdyansk Film Festival that was held between August 28 and September 3, Info-Prim Neo reports. The jury of the 12th edition of the festival, headed by the president of the Filmmakers Union of Ukraine Boris Savchenko (jury members Iovan Marcovici, Serbia, Eugen Doga, Moldova, Vladimir Dolinski, Russia, Vladimir Talashko, Ukraine), awarded the largest number of prizes to “Arrivederci”– the prize for the best direction, the prize for the best image and the jury s Special Prize “The Festival s Hope”, which was given to the seven-year-old protagonist of the movie, Ionel Babenco. The producer and director of “Arrivederci” Valeriu Jereghi has told Info-Prim Neo that the Berdyansk festival brought together filmmakers from the U.S., Israel, Turkey, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Czech Republic, Turkey, Serbia, Slovenia, and Bulgaria. They showed about 100 televised, feature films and documentaries. “Arrivederci” was screened in the Big Hall of the Central cinema and was applauded by the spectators, who asked that the movie be shown on other festival days as well. Therefore, “Arrividerci” was screened for several times. Valeriu Jereghi said that the movie was invited to participate in four more festivals in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Besides, the director of the Kiev International Film Festival Fedor Krat invited Jereghi to show “Arrivederci” at the Central Film House in Kiev, where Ukrainian politicians, filmmakers and journalists will hold debates. Afterward, the Moldovan film will be screened in the towns of Harcov, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporojie, Lvov. Fedor Krat, who is also a filmmaker, told the Moldovan director that Ukraine regrettably does not have such a film and asked Valeriu Jereghi to make a film “Arrivederci-2” about the abandoned children of Ukraine. Valeriu Jereghi said that the fate of the two children left in state care and their own care by their mother, who went to work in Italy, aroused the compassion of the Ukrainian filmmakers and spectators. It is rather strange that the Moldovan authorities expressed indifference and even hostility towards the film and organized no public screening in Moldova. The public TV channel refused to show the movie and broadcast news stories about its success, while Moldova s embassies in France, Italy and Portugal did not engage in the March tour in these countries to promote the film. Initially, they assured they will take part in the organization of the tour, but later refused to get involved and participate in the screening of the film, after receiving instructions from Chisinau, the director said. Moreover, the head of Moldova s Mission to the Council of Europe Eugenia Chistruga refused to watch “Arrivederci” at the European Parliament, where a feature film was shown for the first time. “Arrivederci” won the Top Prize of the Moscow Eurasian Teleforum in November 2008, beating 200 films made by producers from more than 20 countries.