The feature-length documentary If Pigeons Turned into Gold returns from the 76th Berlin IFF with two awards: the Berlinale Documentary Award and the Caligari Film Award.
Berlinale has been awarding this prize since 2017, annually nominating films across its festival sections. This year, 16 titles competed, and a three-member jury selected Pepa Lubojacki’s feature-length documentary debut as the main prize winner.
The award is endowed with €40,000, with the financial prize split between the film’s director and producer. In this case, part of the prize also goes to the Czech company CLAW films, represented by Klára Mamojková and Wanda Kaprálová – both Slovak. The film was co-produced on behalf of Slovakia by the company guča films, represented by Matej Sotník. Winning the award also entitles a film to take part in the competition for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, allowing it to be submitted and considered in next year’s awards of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
First, the documentary received the Caligari Film Award, presented since 1986 within the Berlinale Forum section to films that are stylistically and thematically innovative. This year, the award went to the personal documentary statement by director Pepa Lubojacki. The award is endowed with 4,000 Euro. Half of the prize money goes to the award winner, while the other half is allocated to the distributor to support the film’s nationwide theatrical release after the festival.
The jury describes the film as follows: “If Pigeons Turned to Gold is a film that questions itself and its narratives, full of moments of irritation. The theme is addiction, both her own and that of others, and its surmountability and structural conditionality. The focus is on substance addiction, but underlying this is the addiction to control over the narrative of the film and its voices, as well as over her brother’s addictive behavior. This tension is explicitly addressed. Through brutal directness, she attempts to overcome her own shame. The pop-like form, developed from YouTube formats, stands in stark contrast to the intimate confessions. The film’s reflective process is equally accessible and difficult to digest.“
