The Whitehead Award
Departures named 2010 Whitehead Award Winner
9th Annual Whitehead International Film Festival
January 15-18, 2010
The jury determined that of the ten films screened, the one most excellently exhibiting the five criteria for The Whitehead Award is the Japanese film, Departures, directed by Yajiro Takita.
Criteria 1: Artistic Excellence
The jury applauds the film’s fine cinematography, use of symbols, its creative juxtaposition of indoor/outdoor scenes, its use of music, and its stunning depiction of the sacred ritual of encoffinment.
Criteria 2: The Common Good
The film dealt with two common themes: fear of abandonment, and fear of death. By integrating death naturally into the cycle of life, the film creatively addresses the fears and taboos surrounding death. It also takes account of life’s spiritual deaths through abandonment, and uses the journey format of the film to speak of the possibilities for reconciliation.
Criteria 3: Promoting the Dignity of All
The reverent and caring preparation of the deceased person’s body in the presence of family and loved ones gave a sense of the dignity of death, and the possibilities of completion and peace in the midst of death.
Criteria 4: Ecological Sensitivity
While this was not foremost in the film, it was nonetheless fostered by the rhythm between the external scenes of beauty as Daigo played the cello outdoors, and the internal scenes of beauty as Daigo ministered to the ones who had died and their families. The director honored the sacred nature of life’s cycles.
Criteria 5: Creative Transformation
As Daigo embraces his own transformation in doing casketing, he becomes the agent of creative transformation for others.
Honorable Mention
The jury also lifts up the excellence of the Canadian film, The Necessities of Life, directed by Benoit Pilon. The film moves from the open austerity of the northern landscape to the close confinement of a hospital ward. The use of light, color, and focus skillfully introduced the audience to the complexities of the main characters, each of whom functioned as an agent of transformation for the others. In the process, the film addressed the cultural barriers that create “outsiders” and “insiders,” and the necessities of communication, hope, and trust for the common good.
Previous Award Winners
- 2009: The Visitor
- 2008: Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
- 2007: Tsotsi
- 2006: The Syrian Bride
- 2005: Barbarian Invasions
- 2004: Gaz Bar Blues
2009 Whitehead Award
The Whitehead International Film Festival Jury gave the 2009 Whitehead Award to the American film, The Visitor, citing:
- Its effective use of music, both as background and foreground, to signal the shifts in character development;
- Its highlighting of changes in American hospitality from the Statue of Liberty’s generous welcome of immigrants on Ellis Island, to the parody of this symbol on the walls of a detention center where we forcibly send immigrants back;
- Its portrayal of the dignity of persons from a diversity of cultural, national, and racial backgrounds;
- Its effective demonstration of creative transformation through the main character’s interaction with immigrants, and its call to us individually and nationally to reconsider our relationships to those seeking wellbeing within our borders.
The Jury also gives Special Mention to the outstanding documentary, Heimatklaenge (Echoes of Home) for the way it demonstrates and elicits the music of the earth in all its intense and beautiful variety of forms.
Previous Award Winners
2008: Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
2007: Tsotsi
2006: The Syrian Bride
2005: Barbarian Invasions
2004: Gaz Bar Blues