Burbank, California – December 19th 2018 – TodayCinema Without Borders announced The ICEBOX a HBO movie directed by Daniel Sawka as winner of its 2018 GoE Bridging The Borders Award for its outstanding artistic values to address an important social justice issue.
Susan Morgan Cooper, a Cinema Without Borders artistic adviser and Jury member says: “We are delighted to present our Cinema without Borders Award, sponsored by Go Energistics to the heartbreaking and very timely HBO narrative film, ICEBOX. The film chronicles 12-year-old Oscar’s journey to the U.S.seeking asylum. After fleeing his native Honduras and traveling on foot all through Mexico, he is sadly taken into custody in the U.S. in a huge industrial warehouse. The building, called the Icebox because of it’s freezing temperature, houses multitudes of children trapped just like Oscar played by Anthony Gonzalez. Director /Writer Daniel Sawka started researching the flaws in the way we treat immigrants years ago and his detailed research produces a truly authentic film. Cleverly unsentimental and understated, the film provokes outrage at the injustice of our U.S. immigration system. “
Daniel Sawka on winning GoE Bridging the Borders Award: “It is agreat honor to accept this award from Cinema Without Border on behalf of everyone who made this film possible – from the producers, cast and crew to everyone we interviewed who shared their experiences with us to bring this film to life. The Bridging the Borders Award encapsulates the spirit of the film and the collaborative process it was made in. We are very proud and thank the organization and the jury of Cinema Without Borders, and all the fantastic people who came together over the course of this project. Thank you.”
Daniel was born in Sweden and started working as a child actor in theater. After directing and acting in his own amateur theater productions Daniel made short films and left Stockholm to train as an actor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
His theater background laid the foundation for his work in film. After writing and directing shorts Daniel attended the MFA Directing Program at the AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles.
Daniel’s short film Icebox, which the feature is based on,was shortlisted for the 2018 Academy Awards, won the Grand Jury Award at AFIFest and screened at Telluride, Clermont-Ferrand, Seattle International Film Festival and Gothenburg among other festivals.
Icebox is Daniel’s first feature film. The film was created together with Gracie Films and Endeavor Content and produced by James L.Brooks, Richard Sakai, Julie Ansell and David Greathouse.
ICEBOX is available to view on HBO, HBO On Demand, HBO NOW, HBO GO and partners’ streaming platforms. Through Jan. 10, the film is available for free viewing at https://www.hbo.com/movies/icebox.
GoE Bridging The Borders Award – At a time when physical, religious, racial, cultural, and economic borders divide the population of our planet, efforts to bridge those borders should be appreciated. In that spirit, Cinema Without Borders presents Bridging the Borders Award to the films that are most successful in bridging and connecting the people of our world closer together and addressing crucial social justice issues of our time.
Bridging The Borders Award is offered independently by Cinema Without borders as well as at Palm Springs International Film Festival, Palm Springs International ShoerFest Film Festival, Southeast European Film Festival, LA, Polish Film Festival, LA and Lucas International Film Festival For Young Film Lovers in Germany.
Bridging The Borders Award sponsored by GoEnergistics, has been given to world known filmmakers such as legendary Andrzej Wajda, Emanuele Crialese, Ari Folman, Klaus Haro and many more.