On Saturday, November 2, the awards of the international fantasy film festival, Dracula Film Festival, were awarded. The festival’s grand prize, Dracula Trophy 2024, was won by the film “M” (North Macedonia, 2023, director: Vardan Tozija).
DRACULA TROPHY is the award given for the best feature film, LITTLE DRACULA is awarded for the best international short film, while VLĂDUTZ is the award for the best Romanian short film. DRACULA DIGITAL rewards short films filmed in Brașov, with a mobile phone.
The 12th edition of the international fantasy film festival, Dracula Film Festival, ended, and on Saturday, November 2, at the Apollonia Modern in Brașov, the awards ceremony took place, followed by a dinner-concert by the American guitarist Gary Lucas, who accompanied the film live Spanish Dracula (1931).
In the festival program, the eight most anticipated premieres belonged to the feature film competition, the selection of which was made by Big Johnthe director of the Dracula Film Festival, and the jurors Paul Arion (Romania/Canada/UK – jury president, director, DoP and visual effects expert), Brando de Sica (Italy – director, screenwriter and sound designer) and Valentin Greutert (Switzerland, producer) have named the coveted winner Dracula Trophy 2024.
Grand Prize Dracula Film Festival 2024, Dracula Trophywas won by the film “M” (Macedonia de Nord, 2023, r: Vardan Tozija).
Trailer „M”, directed by Vardan Tozija:
Here was the jury’s reasoning:
„<<M>> it’s a film that draws viewers in with its wonderful mix of atmosphere, careful execution and respect for its genre. From the very beginning, <M>> creates a mood that is both captivating and subtly unsettling, maintaining the suspense in the best possible way. The filmmakers demonstrate an undeniable dedication to quality, capturing every moment with meticulous attention to detail that speaks to their genuine love for the art of cinema. One of the outstanding aspects of the film is its visuals, which bring a unique richness to the scenes, using light, shadow and framing to enhance both the story and the setting. Filmed in Macedonia, the film showcases the country’s landscapes, which adds to its authenticity and depth. The story itself is peppered with well-thought-out surprises and twists that add complexity and depth to the plot. Plot development not only surprises the audience, but also adds layers of meaning to the characters’ struggles. In conclusion, the film <M>> stands out as an impressive achievement, one that not only abides by the conventions of the genre, but deftly elevates them through direction, twists, and imagery. It is a film that talks about the art of storytelling and promises an exciting future for Macedonian cinema. Definitely, a film worth experiencing!”.
The category short film23 films from 11 countries competed for the trophies Little Dracula (international short films) and Vlădutz (Romanian short films), the selector of the short film section being the film critic Cristian Mărculescu.
The jury of the short film section, consisting of Eugen Kelemen (film producer), Mircea Pop (graphic designer, illustrator) and Gabriel Spahiu (actor), awarded the following awards:
Romanian short film competition: Trophy Vlăduţ: The inheritance (directed by Marian Fărcuț) and mention for the image: Dogma ’7 (directed by Ștefan Marcu).
International Short Film Competition: The Trophy Little Dracula: She Stays (Mx), directed by Marinthia Gutiérrez, and Screenplay Credit: The Low and Mighty (Hungary), regia Péter Karácsony.
In the final competition Dracula Digital six teams participated, and the films were voted by a jury of specialists, consisting of Eugene Neagu (Italy/Romania, actor), Florian Zapra (Romania, director), Stefan Iancu (Romania, actor), Teodora Dinca (Romania, actress) and You are Sârbei (Romania, actress).
The six finalist teams had to make a 3-minute short film, filmed in Brașov, based on three keywords: white, black, consequence.
trophy Dracula Digital and the prize worth 500 euros was awarded by the film Forever in Greymade by the team formed by Ioan Petritan, Noah Ștefan Manea, Mihai Năstase.
Watch the winning film, Dracula Digital, here:
All 6 finalist productions can be viewed online, on draculadigital.ro.
And at the 2024 edition, the tradition of awarding an honorary title of “CONTE DRACULA” for the entire activity, which rewards memorable achievements in the space of the fantastic film, and among those who received this title are the directors Lamberto Bava and Ruggero Deodato, the actress Debbie Rochon, the master of special effects Sergio Stivaletti, the actor Armand Assante or the filmmakers Enzo G. Castellari and Sergio Martino.
This year, the “Count Dracula” trophies were handed out to some of the most popular filmmakers in contemporary cinema.
During the twelfth edition of the Dracula Film Festival, the trophy and title of “Countess Dracula” was presented in Braşov to a true living legend of Horror cinema, the Danish actress LONE FLEMING (b. 1945), whose career includes over 60 roles, starting from the 70s and up to the present day, in productions that were very successful with the public, but also won multiple awards in genre festivals, such as the recent I’ll Crush Y ‘all (Os reviento), winner last year including a special mention at the Dracula Film Festival.
LONE FLEMING started working early in cinematography, especially in Spain, a country he would be attached to for the rest of his life, where he debuted with appearances in photonovelas and small roles in films, until filmmaker Amando de Ossorio offered him the role main character in Tombs of the Blind Dead, from 1972, a reference cult film in the history of the Horror genre.
Thanks to “The Blind Dead” series – she starred in three of the four films with Amando De Ossorio’s blind Templars -, Lone Fleming quickly established herself as one of the most popular Scream Queens in the European Fantasy/Horror space, and the rich his filmography is punctuated by titles highly appreciated by fans of dark stories, from A Candle for the Devil (1973) or Evil Eye (1975) to Escaping the Dead (2017) or Dark Girls (2022).
Filmmaker XAVIER GENS became Count Dracula at the Dracula Film Festival.
In 2024, during the twelfth edition of the Dracula Film Festival, the honorary title of Count Dracula was given to a master of modern horror, the French filmmaker XAVIER GENS, whose global popularity exploded this year thanks to his film with killer sharks that managed to breed in the waters of the Seine, “Under Paris”, a captivating eco-satirical thriller produced by Netflix and released – inspired – in the run-up to the Olympics in the capital France.
XAVIER GENS, always attracted to cinematography, entered this professional universe in the second part of the 90s, as an assistant to super-directors such as Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark and John Frankenheimer, thus associating his name with successful actresses ( Maximum Risk, Double Team, Ronin), and the acquired know-how later defined the special dynamics of adult mixes of action, suspense, fantasy and horror that characterize his stagings, regardless of whether we think of cinema productions (Hitman , Mayhem!) or TV (Gangs of London, The Last Panthers).
The first memorable milestone in the area of Horror is his debut in the feature film, Frontière(s), from 2007, the initiator of a route that Xavier Gens would never abandon, even as a screenwriter and director (The Divide – 2011, The ABCs of Death – 2012, Cold Skin – 2018, the series Mortel – 2019), nor as a producer, the French shooting films such as Cell, from 2016, the adaptation after Stephen King, or the original Hostile (2017), by the young Matthieu Turi, nominated in 2020 at DFF for the Dracula Trophy with his Meander. His supernatural horror inspired by the Tanacu exorcism, The Crucifixion, from 2017, filmed in Romania, with Maia Morgenstern, Andrei Aradits and Laurentiu Ulici in the cast, was screened in Braşov, within the DFF.
All these landmarks outline the portrait of a very creative filmmaker and really passionate about the fantastic film in its various declinations, which is why this year, XAVIER GENS was honored at the Dracula Film Festival.
The Dracula Film Festival 2024 awards gala was presented by Simona Pop, the actress of the “Sică Alexandrescu” Brașov Theater.
The 2024 edition of the Dracula Film Festival abounded in unique cinematic experiences that allowed moviegoers to explore a variety of fantasy expressions, from art and documentary to thriller, horror or sci-fi, some of which in a national premiere.
Spectators present at the festival were able to explore and consume other types of Pop culture events, from meetings with film authors, original dinner-concerts or exhibitions, to the convention that is already becoming a tradition in Brașov, Dracula Fantasy Con, which brought together various representations of fantasy, from books and genre novels to video games, new and retro, or board games and meetings with graphic artists.
Dracula Film Festival, the twelfth edition, took place in Brașov from October 31 to November 3, with activities at Apollonia Modern (former Cinema Modern), Cinema One Laserplex and Coresi Shopping Resort.
Dracula Film Festival is a cultural project financed by Brașov City Hall.
Sponsors: Coresi Shopping Resort, Zizin Ape Minerale Naturale, ASUS via Republic of Gamers, Smart PC, BookCity.
Official car of the festival: Ford Brașov.
Culinary partner: Sergiana Poiana Mărului.
Partners: Centrul Cultural Apollonia, Apollonia Modern, Cinema One Laserplex Brașov, Provideo, Intercomfilm Distribution, RoImage 2000, Aftar Hours, Mercenar Lab, Asociatia de Treabă, Party Sound, Romarg, Hobby Custom, Tricksters Club, Forme.
Media partners: Kiss FM, Days and Nights, Cinemap, Cinefan.ro, MovieNews.ro, BizBrasov.ro, myTex.ro
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