‘The Devil of Entrudo’, depicting the ancient tradition of the Caretos at the Lazarim carnival in Lamego, showcases “the unique perspective of the director and the cultural richness” tied to the celebration and “the enigmatic figure of the ‘devil’ that persists within it,” according to the jury’s decision announced on Sunday night.
Diogo Varela Silva’s film was featured in the medium-length documentary competition at the Bulgarian festival, sharing an honorable mention with ‘Unspoken’ by Polish director Maciej Adamek. The top prize in this competition was awarded to ‘Koka’, also from Poland, directed by Aliaksandr Tsymbaliuk.
The Rhodope International Documentary Film Festival (RIFE), held from July 10 to 13 in Smolyan, Bulgaria, awarded the Best International Feature Documentary to ‘Landshaft’ by German filmmaker and director Daniel Kötter.
Co-produced by Germany and Armenia, the film journeys through the eastern region of the Caucasus country, from Lake Sevan to the Sotk gold mine, occupied by Azerbaijan since 2020. According to its synopsis, the film establishes the “psychogeography” of a geopolitically charged landscape through its inhabitants, “both human and non-human.”
An honorable mention in this category went to ‘Mother Vera’, a British production directed by Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson.
The award for Best International Short Documentary was given to ‘Clear Sky’, from Poland, directed by Marcin Kundera.
In this category, honorable mentions were awarded to ‘To the Embers’, a French production directed by Morgane Ambre, and ‘Convention of Contracts’, a Greek production by Stefanos Mondelos.
‘The Devil of Entrudo’, by Diogo Varela Silva, premiered last October at the DocLisboa film festival. Since then, it has been honored as the best documentary in showcases in Rome and Milan, received the Silver Award from the New York Movie Awards, and the audience award at the Santarém International Film Festival.
