“FIRST LAST SUMMER” WINS BEST DIRECTOR AWARD IN CYPRUS
The recently concluded International Short Film Festival of Cyprus brought Nastazja Gonera an award for best director.
The International Short Film Festival of Cyprus is an event devoted to short films held in Cyprus for its 11th consecutive year. The program includes live-action shorts, documentaries, animated films, as well as experimental films from around the world.
One of the films invited to the festival was Nastazja Gonera's First Last Summer. The film, awarded for its direction, is about a familiar world ceasing to exist. In a secret military centre, somewhere by the Polish sea, a strange experiment is carried out – a group of scientists and military men transform repeating offenders into animals. The experiment is supervised by Gaia, a scientist and veterinarian of the future. She carefully picks convicts to the needs of nature, looks after the animals and decides when they can be released into the wild to fulfil their role as revivalists of the species. It's difficult, demanding work – also in terms of morality. She is aided, to the best of their ability, by her children – young Bebe and teenager Janek. At least until U is also brought to the centre in a newly arrived transport of convicts among murderers and rapists. The young girl immediately attracts Janek's attention. She didn't end up here by accident. It isn't innocents who are sent to save the dying nature, but Janek is hell bent on helping her get out of this place. However, this means opposing his own family and a cause that is many times greater than himself. But it's a beautiful summer, and the feeling that connects these two – a convict and a prison helper – could certainly have a future. If only it wasn't the first summer of the end of the world… Whose lives would we be ready to sacrifice if nature had given us such a bill?
More information about the other awarded films can be found here.