The Werner Herzog Basis revealed at a latest ceremony in Munich that Canadian filmmaker Harley Chamandy will obtain the 2024 Werner Herzog Movie Prize for his function “Allen Sunshine.”
The annual award, offered in collaboration with the Munich Movie Museum, comes with a 5,000 euro (or $5,445 U.S. {dollars}) prize. Herzog, in an announcement, praised Chamandy’s work: “The Werner Herzog Basis Prize in 2024 will go to Harley Chamandy for his movie ‘Allen Sunshine.’ One of many basis’s duties is to advertise younger expertise, and it’s outstanding that Harley Chamandy took half in my first workshop for younger filmmakers in Cuba when he was simply 17 years previous. On the age of 21, he made his refined movie, which has been awarded right here.”
Herzog added, “The factors for the award from my basis are all the time innovation, braveness, and initiative, and Harley Chamandy has demonstrated all of those. He already possesses a singular voice. Congratulations to him.“
The award ceremony befell on Friday, December 6, 2024 on the Munich Cinematheque (Filmmuseum München), adopted by a screening of the movie. IndieWire shares the unique video under.
Earlier winners of this prize embody Oscar-winning administrators Chloé Zhao and Asghar Farhadi. Chamandy is the youngest particular person to obtain the award, at age 22. Per a synopsis, “Allen Sunshine,” which you’ll stream on Apple TV+, “follows a former music mogul who retreats to a secluded lake home after his well-known spouse’s suicide. The protagonist copes together with his loss by composing digital music and forming an unlikely bond with two native boys. His journey by means of grief is punctuated by encounters that remind him of his previous and future.”
Right here’s extra from Herzog concerning the movie, and watch the Q&A under:
“‘Allen Sunshine’ is a couple of music producer who, after a private tragedy, seeks solitude and lives in a cabin and data ambiance and fowl sounds and creates data, and little by little, a few of his tales is being revealed. His spouse, an awesome singer, whose work he produced, died, apparently dedicated suicide, and he befriends two boys who take him slowly out of the state of solitude,” Herzog mentioned in Munich.
“The movie doesn’t stay from pure storytelling. It’s one thing else; as an alternative of story, you will note far more of a state of solitude, a state of in search of serenity, a state of residing in nature, which reveales, little by little, a narrative that’s behind it. You will note it, for instance, within the creatures who seem, for instance a really massive canine… the best way the canine is current is outstanding. The best way the 2 boys befriend him is outstanding… He’s hiding a previous that slowly all through the movie turns into current. He’s additionally questioning actuality. There are specific mysterious telephone calls with no one on the road, and it turns into very unusual what sort of actuality is that this and what sort of actuality does the protagonist stay in.
“Aesthetics is extra essential than pure storytelling. In a approach, vaguely, it jogs my memory of how the good Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami would begin his story, with very a lot a state of issues, a state of friendship amongst two kids, that turns into a deeper and deeper story. It jogs my memory a little bit little bit of Concord Korine, specifically his movie, “Gummo.” I’m certain Harley is aware of the movie, and it’s most likely deep in his coronary heart.
“There are not any actual comparative movies in existence, at the very least not of this technology. This technology doesn’t exist but. 22-year-olds are simply making use of to movie college right here in Munich… I salute a brand new technology of filmmakers, and I salute Harley Chamandy having made this movie, which actually deserves this award.”