“THE STONE” WINS IN SOUTH KOREA
The film by Bartosz Kozera won the Grand Prix at the Jeonju International Short Film Festival in South Korea.
Jeonju International Short Film Festival was first held in 2018. Its program includes the most interesting short films from around the world. Every year, the organisers try to focus the event around a central theme. This time it was the concern for human spirituality, which has suffered in the difficult time of the pandemic.
The winning “The Stone” fits in the proposed theme. It's a subversive story that does contain a spiritual element. A wheelchair-bound nun is healed after touching an ordinary stone in the park. For the archbishop, the stone is too secular an object for the Vatican to recognise a miracle. The convent's prioress saves the day: by lying about an apparition, she convinces the archbishop to pass the matter higher. As fate would have it, the Chief Rabbi of Poland – who's moving on crutches – sits on the same stone. He is also miraculously healed. The priests have no doubts: they either have to work out a shared miracle, or none at all.
You can read more about the festival and see a list of all awarded titles here.