Jan Ijäs’s Waste no. 5 The Raft of the Medusa (2017) was awarded with Amnesty International Award at the 15th IndieLisboa, held in Portugal from 26.4.–6.5.2018.
The jury communicated the following statement:
“It is with subtle irony and with a lot of creativity that, in a game of temporal and geographical distances, the director sheds a light on the drama of those who seek refuge. Combining three formats, it explores the possible absurdity of the transformation of tragedy into art, making us question what makes us closer and what empathy means. The Jury awards the Amnesty International Award to Jan Ijas’ Waste No.5 Raft of the Medusa, for its welcoming message of solidarity and respect for human rights.”
The nominees for Amnesty International Award consisted of eight feature-length and six short films. The award is worth EUR 1.500.
Waste no. 5 The Raft of the Medusa parallels the wrecked boats of the African immigrants on the Italian Lampedusa island and the abandoned cars of asylum seekers that have travelled from Russia to Salla, Finnish Lapland with Théodore Géricault’s painting The Raft of the Medusa (1818-1819), located in Louvre. Based on true events, the subject of the painting is the 1816 shipwreck of Méduse, a frigate with administrative personnel on their way from France to African colonies. The passengers of the ship rescued on a raft they built and left drifting on the open sea with fatal consequences. Over the years, the painting has become a universal symbol for both despair and hope.
Media artist and filmmaker Jan Ijäs lives and works in Helsinki, Finland. Ijäs works with documentary, fiction and alternative film. The films of Ijäs deal with serious and difficult social themes, like migration into foreign and hostile societies. Ijäs’s films have been shown very widely abroad by over a hundred film festivals and as installations in museums and galleries.
The 15th IndieLisboa, 26.4.–6.5.2018, Portugal
More information: IndieLisboa
AV-ARKKI HAS PROMOTED AND DISTRIBUTED FINNISH MEDIA ART SINCE 1989. AV-ARKKI’S PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS HAVE MADE THE ARTISTS’ PARTICIPATION IN THIS EVENT POSSIBLE.