To help celebrate the 2009 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival (HRWIFF), Cinereach has presented the 2009 Cinereach Award, a $5,000 prize, to Fabrizio Lazzaretti and Paolo Santolini for their film Back Home Tomorrow. The festival concludes Thursday, June 25th.
Paolo Santolini and Fabrizio Lazzaretti
In Back Home Tomorrow, directors Fabrizio Lazzaretti and Paolo Santolini deftly weave together the stories of two children affected by war during their stays in the caring hands of Italian aid organization Emergency. Yagoub fled with his family from Darfur to the Mayo Refugee Camp in Khartoum. He has to undergo a serious heart operation, but neither his family nor his fellow tribesmen can come up with the money to pay for it. Murtaza is recuperating in a hospital in Kabul after losing his left hand to a landmine. The directors expertly interweave these two fascinating and heartfelt stories without commentary to create a film of complexity, resonance, and hope.
“Back Home Tomorrow exemplifies the meaningful and artistic filmmaking that Cinereach is committed to supporting,” said Cinereach Creative Director Michael Raisler. “We’re proud to join with Human Rights Watch in acknowledging the achievements of these and other filmmakers who use the power of film to promote dialogue and facilitate cross-cultural understanding.”
Q&A with Fabrizio Lazzaretti (director), Paolo Benzi (producer) and Paolo Santolini (director)
Cinereach presented the award to the filmmakers at their Friday night HRWIFF Screening, where Lazzaretti, Santolini and Back Home Tomorrow Producer Paolo Benzi participated in a lively Q&A with an audience that was deeply moved by the film.
Last year’s Cinereach Award went to The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) Directed by Ellen Kuras and Co-Directed by Thavisouk Phrasavath. The film went on to win Best Documentary at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, the Spectrum Award at Full Frame among others, and was nominated for an Academy Award and an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary. It will air on PBS’ acclaimed P.O.V. series July 21, 2009.
