For the seventh consecutive year the International Schlingel Film Festival in Chemnitz hosted the ECFA Jury. Jury members Mia Desroches (FIFEM, Montréal), Rok Govednik (Eye on Film, Ljubljana) and Dr. Cecile Sandten voted the German-Italo coproduction MOUNTAIN MIRACLE – AN UNEXPECTED FRIENDSHIP (aka AMELIE RENNT) directed by Tobias Wiemann.
Amelie, the toughest brat in all of Berlin, doesn’t let anyone tell her what to do, least of all her parents. When they send her to a clinic after another asthma seizure, Amelie runs off to a place where no one would expect to find her: on a mountaintop, where she meets a quirky boy named Bart. He knows about an ancient tradition: the Alp Mountain Fires, lighted to cure the sick…
The jury particularly appreciated “the depiction of the landscape in South Tyrol, that fit perfectly with Amelie’s state of mind, her mental and emotional growth. MOUNTAIN MIRACLE is a beautifully written story – with witty dialogues – in which important issues such as a life-threatening chronic illness, a divorce, friendship, trust and the belief in one’s own strength are convincingly depicted. With significant courage Amelie fights for her right to take destiny into her own hands.”