The 2008 Winners
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On 29 October, at Sala Marconi in Cittą del Vaticano, the international jury of Religion Today 2008, composed by Greg Apparcel, Dan Angelo Muggia, Enzo Porcelli, Wen-jie Qin and Nader Talebzadeh, confered the following awards:

"In the spirit of Faith":
A SPAN OF HEAVEN, Ali Vazirian (Iran)
In the exploration of the meaning of heaven in the context of Islam, this film challenges the desire for money and possessions and focuses on how to discover the path to heaven. The film shows that this is the path of God's chosen servants and the Good Samaritan, who serves the least of our sisters and brothers. This well-crafted and original story, appeals to a broad audience of children and adults and challenges us to consider what is really important in life and what it is that we are striving to accomplish as we journey toward heaven.

Best Feature Film:
THE NIGHT, Rasul Sadrameli (Iran)
Following the classic symbolic story of two men handcuffed together, SadrAmeli examines the conflict of two very different human beings who are pulled from their individual missions into a spiritual struggle with God and each other. Through the help of a compassionate intermediary and small step conversions, one man honors his dying mother at the shrine of Iman Reza in Mashad and the other lets go of his need to make life go the way he expected. Well written and directed, with a superb cast, this film is both moving and thought-provoking.

Best Documentary:
DON MILANI, Elisabetta Castana (Italy):
This is the powerful and inspirational story of Don Milani who fought hard to give every single child the best education that each deserved. Don Milani battled the oppression of the poor, and ruffled many feathers to show all children that someone cared deeply about their well being. He inspired a generation to strive for peace and justice throughout the world. This is an exceptionally well made film that intertwines current interviews, archival film and dramatic renditions into a cohesive portrayal of a single man who made a difference in the lives of many, many people.

Best Short Movie:
COME ON, EVERYBODY IS ASLEEP!, Zoreh Zamani (Iran):
Religion today promotes, through the medium of cinema, a culture of dialogue and peace among religions and this film embodies this mission perfectly. This is an inter-religious story that utilizes classic metaphors such as the wall between two gardens, the search for God by compass and the joining of hands between a Christian and a Muslim. ŅCome On, Everybody Is AsleepÓ, shows how the innocence of children can discover what is really important in bringing together two different worlds.


For the first time in Religion Today Fimfestival, a SIGNIS jury composed by Magali Van Reeth, Rev Kamal Corraya and Rev Paul Cheruthottupuram confered the following award:

Signis prize:
DON ZENO, Gianluigi Calderone, Rai Fiction (Italy)


Short movies:
SEASONS OF LOVE, Rev Jiji Kalavanal (India)


Special mention:
GOODBYE MOTHERS, Mohamed Ismail (Morocco)



Nun Sophia, director of Orthodox Cinema Festival "The meeting" of Moscow confered the award:

"The meeting":
A SPAN OF HEAVEN, Ali Vazirian (Iran)


Religion Today 2008 juries confered the following special awards:

Best reportage:
FRONTIERE DELLO SPIRITO - SIRIA, Maria Cecilia Sangiorgi (Italy)

Religion and society - special jury Media city of Trento
(Gianluigi Bozza, Katia Bernardi, Toni Cembran, Elena Fontana, Giorgio Lacchin, Lorenzo Lucianer, Sandra Matuella e Marco Pontoni):
BAREFOOT IN HEAVEN, Bahram Tavakoli (Iran)


Special mention:
Don Milani, Elisabetta Castana (Itay)


Special mention:
PRAYER, Ziya Shikhlinsky (Azerbaijan)


Music from heaven - special jury Valle dei Laghi:
YOU NEVER KNOW: SCHLOMO CARLEBACH, Boaz Shachak (Israel)

Stories of boys - spcial jury ŅFerrara Città Ecumenica":
A CRYSTAL BOY, Alexander Tyapov (Russia)

The face of the Other - special jury Trento don Tonino Bello:
A SPAN OF HEAVEN, Ali Vazirian (Iran)

Rights denied - special jury Fraternità di Nomadelfia:
THE GIRLS, THE GIRLS, Alexandr Stolyrov (Ucraina)

Intereligious dialogue - special jury Trento don Silvio Franch:
GOODBYE MOTHERS, Mohamed Ismail (Morocco)

Portraits - special jury Trento Massimo Prevedello:
UN INCONTRO CON CHIARA,Cinzia Th Torrini (Italy)

The strenght to start again - speial jury Bolzano Religione e integrazione:
ex aequo
PATH OF OUR FATHERS, Asaf Shahar, (Israel)
EMPTY HANDS, Abolghasem Talebi (Iran)
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