'Lost Land' wins at Jihlava doc fest

PRAGUE -- Low-tech shown king with Czech auds within the 15th Jihlava Documentary Film Festival, where pre-digital filmmaking acquired large."Lost Land," a Belgian-Arabic doc by Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd on refugee strife in Western Sahara, won fest's primary prize Saturday inside an off-beat ceremony that riffed around the Titanic theme."Documentaries show us the holes inside the spend," fest topper Marek Hovorka had quipped within the Jihlava opening five days before, as fest filled the Czech fortress town with students, filmmakers and scouts from TV tv producers throughout Europe as well as the U.S.Juror and filmmaker James Hong recognized "Lost Land," having its unique 8mm look, due to its artful approach to an engaging problem.Leaders for instance Canada's Steve Sanguedolce intrigued auds with hands-colored 16mm footage in "Blinding," in regards to the subjectivity of vision, while Norway's Gunnar Hall Jensen added other-worldly 8mm footage to his study of spiritual mission, "Gunnar Goes God."Portugal's Marcelo Felix built his "Eden's Ark" on nitrate prints discovered in vaults.Georgia's study of economic collapse, "Bakhmaro" (Restaurant) by Salome Jashi won the Central-Eastern Europe prize while Martin Marecek's "Pv Eclipse," a review of aid employees in Zambia, won for Czech doc and aud kudos. Austria's "Endeavor," created from space shuttle footage by Johann Lurf, needed experimental doc honors. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com