Estonian director wins Student Academy Award
Estonian film director German Golub's movie "My Dear Corpses" ("Mu kallid laibad") has won a Student Academy Award, ERR's culture portal reports.
The U.S. Film Academy recognized the best student movies across the world. In the International Feature Film category, three movies won, one of these being Golub's "My Dear Corpses".
The Academy chose the best student movies from among 1,474 candidates, which had been made at 207 U.S. and 121 international film schools.
All winners can also apply for the best Best Live Action Short Film at the Oscars accordingly in the animation, feature of documentary categories.
For German Golub, a student of Tallinn University's Baltic Film and Media School (BFM), this was his first Student Academy Award.
"It is a very powerful feeling; we have managed to do something great. What we really managed to do, is only now starting to sink in, the feelings are only arriving. We also have permission to apply for the Best Live Action Short Movie, which means that we are going from championship league to the Olympics," Golub said in September.
The film "My Dear Corpses" explores the story of a boy who is unexpectedly evicted from his house. To earn some money, he works ferrying dead bodies around. "While the film is not autobiographical in any way, I am familiar with the work and have done it myself," the director noted.
"But the life you saw when doing that job meant that you see get to see a bit more; something that not every person is able to see. It brought along some thoughts and left a mark. The movie is not about dead people, it's about [living] people and talks about what happens to them when they're alive but sending another person on their final journey. We tend to forget that we are mortal and we get to show what our life is really like," Golub said.
Golub is currently working on two other films: One about Erika Salumäe (an Estonian track bicycle racer who won the first Olympic gold medal for Estonia after the country regained its independence - ed.) and also a politically satirical film.
The Oscars for Student Films have been awarded since 1972 to give young filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their talents within the film industry. Among Estonian filmmakers, Tanel Toom has previously won a student Oscar with the film "Confession" (2010).
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Roberta Vaino