2017

The first Mercurius Prize event will take place at the “International ShorTS Film Festival by Maremetraggio” in Trieste, Italy, July 2017. The “International ShorTS Film Festival by Maremetraggio” offers its audience high-quality works with a pan-European coverage, promoting cinema of foreign countries, young professional and inter-cultural dialogue. Starting with “International ShorTS Film Festival 2017” , the Mercurius Prize Committee later intends to offer the award in other international film festivals as well, in line with those festivals’ criteria of excellence. The Committee’s main aim is to recognize films whose qualities increase awareness of the human psyche in its largest and deepest dimensions, in accord with the aforementioned Jungian criteria.

What is it about the Bushpeople – also known as the San – that touches something deep within  us? Why are we so fascinated by their world? With these questions in mind we set off on a journey to South Africa,  Botswana and Namibia. The extraordinary rock paintings of the Bushpeople lead us back into the world of our ancestors, the hunters and gatherers, into a past that we no longer know. They lead us to the spirits of the rocks, rocks that conjure up the early  man within  us, which – externally at least – has long been so repressed and even destroyed. Yet our journey continues beyond the rock painings and takes us to the Bushpeople who are still alive today, altogether about 100’000 in  southern Africa. They share with us their tales and myths. They invite us to take part in their rituals and healing dance, which have been handed down from generation to generation. In so doing, the Bushpeople restore our links with a way of life that we have lost.