Lotus Award 2022 Winners – 15th World Film Festival of Bangkok

The winner of Kriangsak Silakong Achievement Award is ‘Apichatpong Weerasethakul’ Thai independent film director, screenwriter, and film producer.

The award presentation ceremony is scheduled for this Sunday (Dec 11) at 6pm, along with the announcement of Lotus Awards for best movie and best director, as well as Special Mention accolades.

Apichatpong has won many international awards for his works over the past two decades. These include Un Certain Regard Prize for “Blissfully Yours” and Jury Prizes for “Tropical Malady” and “Memoria”, all from the Cannes Film Festival. Also, he is the first director from Southeast Asia to have won the French film festival’s highest Palme d’Or prize for his film “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”.

This year, the Thai director is listed 32nd among the 100 most influential people in art by ArtReview, a London-based magazine on international contemporary art, in its “2022 Power 100” ranking.

LOTUS AWARD FOR BEST FILM

“KLONDIKE”

For capturing personal and political dilemmas during the darkest of times, and exposing humour in the mundane bleakness of a country in war, with the artistic, technical and minimalist filmmaking in its highest potential and giving us the most powerful ending sequence. The Best Film unanimously goes to Ukrainian KLONDIKE by Maryna Er Gorbach.

LOTUS AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR

“HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WOMAN”

For its bravery to use non-narrative way to capture a woman’s internal and physical journey with one of most powerful performances this year, unapologetic in its memorable imagery, in a captivating visionary debut. The Best Director Award goes to Serbian HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WOMAN? by Dušan Zorić & Matija Gluščević.

Grand Jury Prize goes to SCALA by Ananta Thitanat.

SCALA

For its striking ability to show humour and feel-good optimism while observing painful and heartbreaking demolition of Thailand’s last standing temple of cinema, unleashing intricate fragments of authoritarian Thai politics over the past decades.

Jury Prize for Best Screenplay

“VICTIM” written by Jakub Medvecký & directed by Michal Blaško

For a nuanced take on moral dilemma, displacement, and the internal guilt ordinary people deal with caused by societal injustice and media amplification, for exposing humanity’s take on charity to elevate their own greed and for subverting the immigrant issue, the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay goes to Victim, written by Jakub Midvecky and directed by Michal Blasko.

and

“STONEWALLING” co-written & co-directed by Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka

For the slow-burning, heartfelt and relentlessly engaging portrait of life in today’s China, resonating with the struggles of individuals in every corner of the modern world, and in this particularly trying time we are all living in.

Jury Prize for Best Ensemble

(Ali Junejo, Alina Khan, Rasti Farooq, Sarwat Gillani)

“JOYLAND” directed by Saim Sadiq

For a memorable, balanced and profound performances that portray characters who are trapped in toxic masculinity and cruel binary gendered world. The Jury Prize for Best Ensemble goes to Rasti Farooq, Ali Junejo, Sarwat Gillani and Alina Khan of Joyland

Jury Prize for Technical Achievement for Cinematography (Wojciech Staron) and Editing (Carlo Francisco Manatad)

“AUTOBIOGRAPHY” directed by Makbul Mubarak

For masterfully delivering an atmospheric, ominous and richfully cinematic intimacy of abuse, each frame shows a delicate showcase of decay, each shot portrays a meandering trauma, the Jury Prize for Technical Achievement goes to Cinematographer Wojciech Staron and Editor Carlo Francisco Manatad of Autobiography.