The Author’s Best 10 Movies of 2013

1. Still Life. dir.Uberto Pasolini (UK/Italy) Four awards at Venice festival, Best film and FIPRESCI awards at Reykjavik film festival, the Black Pearl award (the highest award) at the Abu Dhabi film festival (section: New Horizons).
2. Las niñas Quispe (The Quispe Girls). dir. Sebastián Sepúlveda (Chile/France/Argentina) Best cinematography award (Fedora award) at Venice film festival (section: Critic's Week).
3. Le passé (The Past). dir. Asghar Farhadi (France/Italy) Best Actress award and Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at Cannes film festival, Best Screenplay at Durban film festival, Best Foreign Language Film of National Board of Review (USA), Audience award at Oslo film festival.
4. Mandariinid (Tangerines). dir. Zaza Urushadze (Estonia/Georgia) Best Director and Audience awards at Warsaw film festival, Audience award at Mannheim-Heidelberg film festival.
5. To the Wonder. dir. Terrence Malick (USA) SIGNIS award at Venice film festival.
6. La grande bellezza (The Great Beauty). dir. Paolo Sorrentino (Italy/France) Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Editing awards at the European Film Awards, Best Foreign Film at the Oscars, Best Foreign Film award at Golden Globes, Best Foreign Film award at the BAFTAs.
7. Pozitia copilului (Child's Pose). dir. Calin Peter Netzer (Romania) Golden Bear and FIPRESCI awards at Berlin festival, Telia award at Stockholm film festival.
8. Jagten (The Hunt). dir. Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark) Best Actor award, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, and Vulcain Prize at Cannes film festival (2012), Best Screenwriter award at the European Film Awards.(2012), Audience award at Ghent film festival, Roger's People Choice award at Vancouver film festival (2012), Best Actor award at the Zulu awards (2013)
9. Short Term 12. dir.Destin Cretton (USA) Best Actress award, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and two other honors at Locarno festival, Audience awards at Athens and Valladolid film festivals, Grand Jury prize and audience award at South by Southwest (SxSW) film festival
10. Uroki garmonii (Harmony Lessons). dir. Emir Baigazin (Kazakhstan/Germany/France) Silver Bear for cinematography and "Berliner Morgenpost" awards at Berlin film festival, International jury and Critics' awards at São Paulo festival, Best new narrative director at Tribeca film festival, NETPAC award at both the Warsaw film festival and the Abu Dhabi film festival.

Prominent films that did not make the top 10 for this critic include Almayer's Folly (Malaysia), Grigris (Chad), The Act of Killing (Denmark/Indonesia), Rocket (Australia), Stray Dogs (Taiwan), The Major (Russia), Ilo Ilo (Singapore), In Bloom (Georgia), Bad Hair (Venezuela), Rooftops (France/Algeria), A Touch of Sin (China), Heli (Mexico), and Blue is the Warmest Color (France)--in that order of appreciation.

Detailed reviews of the top 10 films of 2013 will soon appear on this blog, if already not posted.