Russia's Film Based On Solzhenitsyn's Novel Wins Top Prize At Palermo Film Festival

ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2022) Russian film "100 Minutes" directed by Gleb Panfilov and based on Alexander Solzhenitsyn's novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich won the top prize at the 44th Efebo d'Oro international film festival in the Italian city of Palermo, the festival's organizers told Sputnik on Sunday.

Panfilov's film competed with six other movies based on literary works, including films by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven and German-Turkish director Fatih Akin.

"Panfilov is a master of cinema, he filmed only the most necessary. The film based on the story by Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich contains eternal poetry where suffering, freedom and humanness are intertwined," the jury said also highlighting great acting in the film.

The movie tells the story of a Soviet soldier who was accused of becoming a spy after being captured briefly by the Germans as a prisoner of war during the Second World War and sentenced to 10 years in a Soviet forced labor camp.

"100 Minutes" made its world debut at the 74th Locarno Festival in August 2021, where Filipp Yankovsky, starring in the film, received Boccalino d'Oro 2021 International Independent Film Critics' Award.