Attenberg
Attenberg is a 2010 Greek drama film, written and directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari.[1] The film was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 67th Venice International Film Festival[2] and Ariane Labed won the Coppa Volpi for the Best Actress.[3][4] It was filmed in the town of Aspra Spitia, in the Greek region of Boeotia.[5] The film was selected as the Greek entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards,[6][7] but it did not make the final shortlist.[8]
Attenberg | |
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Film poster | |
Directed by | Athina Rachel Tsangari |
Produced by | Maria Hatzakou Yorgos Lanthimos Iraklis Mavroidis Athina Rachel Tsangari Angelos Venetis |
Written by | Athina Rachel Tsangari |
Starring | Ariane Labed Vangelis Mourikis Evangelia Randou Yorgos Lanthimos |
Cinematography | Thimios Bakatakis |
Edited by | Matt Johnson Sandrine Cheyrol |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | Greece |
Language | Greek |
Plot
Marina, a sexually inexperienced 23-year-old woman, lives with her terminally-ill architect father, Spyros, in an industrial Greek town by the sea where she works at the local steel mill.
Unable to relate to her fellow humans, she lives her life through the wildlife documentaries of Sir David Attenborough, the songs of Suicide and the sex education lessons given to her by her friend Bella.
Despite her sexual inexperience, Marina's relationships with her father and Bella show warmth and thought. Spyros, contemplative as he approaches death, shares with her how he believes, "Man has designed ruins with mathematical accuracy..." referring to the destiny of most architecture, eventually. But then cynically, he reflects that "We (Greece) went from sheep to bulldozers...".
When a stranger comes to town, an engineer who begins a work course at the steel mill, Marina has her first sexual relationship with him. She is secretive but shares her experience first with Spyros, and later with Bella.
As Spyros comes closer to death, Marina asks Bella to sleep with her father as a favor for the dying man, who has not been with a woman for a long time. Meanwhile, Marina begins a sexual relationship with the stranger.
The film reaches its conclusion after Spyros's demise, where the last scenes are of Bella and Marina scattering his ashes over the sea.
Cast
- Ariane Labed as Marina
- Vangelis Mourikis as Spyros
- Evangelia Randou as Bella
- Yorgos Lanthimos as the Engineer
Reception
Quentin Tarantino, who was head of the Jury for the 67th Venice International Film Festival, said that the film "grew on us the most, and showed another Greece".[3][4] Journalist Shane Danielsen called the film "an intellectually rigorous, quietly wrenching Greek drama".[9] Peter Bradshaw characterised the film as "an angular, complex, absorbing and obscurely troubling movie".[10]
Promotion
A promotional picture for the film, where the tongues of two women meet, was censored on Facebook,[11] but Facebook now hosts a profile for the film in which the picture is allowed.[12]
Awards
Event | Category | Nominee | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Venice Film Festival [2][13][14] | Coppa Volpi for Best Actress | Ariane Labed | Won |
Golden Lion | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Nominated | |
Lina Mangiacapre Award | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Won | |
Whistler Film Festival [15] | New Voices Award for Best International Feature | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Won |
Thessaloniki International Film Festival [16] | Special Jury Award - Silver Alexander | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Won |
Angers European First Film Festival [17] | "Mademoiselle Ladubay" Best Actress Prize | Ariane Labed | Won |
Mexico National University International Film Festival (FICUNAM) [18][19] | Silver Puma for Best Director | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Won |
Audience Choice Award | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Won | |
Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema [20] | Best Director | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Won |
International Women's Film Festival [21] | Best Feature Award | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Won |
Hellenic Film Academy Awards [22] | Best Actress | Ariane Labed | Won |
New Horizons Film Festival [23] | Grand Jury Prize | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Won |
Romanian International Film Festival [24] | Best Film Award | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Won |
European Parliament Film Prize [25] | LUX Prize | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Runner-up |
AFI FEST [26] | Special Jury Prize | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Won |
See also
- List of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Greek submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- Rose, Steve (27 August 2011). "Attenberg, Dogtooth and the weird wave of Greek cinema". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
- "Venezia 67". labiennale.org. 29 July 2010. Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- Clarke, Cath (18 August 2011). "First sight: Ariane Labed". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- Jennings, Sheri (11 September 2010). "Tarantino talks about Venice 2010 competitors; explains awards rule change". screendaily.com. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- "Attenberg". athensnews.gr. 5 February 2011. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- "Oscar 2012: Attenberg Is Greece's Best Foreign Language Film Submission". altfg.com. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
- "63 Countries Vie for 2011 Foreign Language Film Oscar". oscars.org. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
- "9 Foreign Language Films Vie for Oscar". Retrieved 19 January 2012.
- Danielsen, Shane (10 September 2010). "Venice '10 | Miike, Affleck, Gallo, & More Make Venice a Fest that Ended Too Soon". indieWire. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- Bradshaw, Peter (1 September 2011). "Attenberg – review". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- "Kyssande tjejer tas bort från Facebook", Dagens Nyheter, 6 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
- Picture on Facebook, from images on the Facebook profile for Attenberg.
- Knegt, Peter (11 September 2010). "Coppola's "Somewhere" Surprises As Venice's Big Winner (Updated)". indieWire. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- "Collateral Awards". labiennale.org. 11 September 2010. Archived from the original on 5 April 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- "Whistler Film Festival - New Voices Award for Best International Feature". Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- "51st TIFF: The awards (12/11/2010)". tiff.filmfestival.gr. 12 November 2010. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- "2011 Palmares" (PDF). premiersplans.org. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- "Silver Puma for Best Director". Archived from the original on 30 April 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- "Audience Choice Award". Archived from the original on 30 April 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- "BAFICI 2011 Best Director Award".
- Silverstein, Melissa (17 April 2011). "The Jury Awards - International Women's Film Festival 2011". indieWire. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- "HFA 2011 Best Actress Award". Archived from the original on 4 January 2014.
- "New Horizons IFF to 'Attenberg'". 30 April 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- "RO-IFF Best Feature Prize to 'Attenberg'". Archived from the original on 19 December 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- "The European Parliament Film Prize: three films to compete for the LUX Prize". luxprize.eu. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- "AFI FEST Special Jury Prize to 'Attenberg'". Archived from the original on 4 January 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.