Press Releases

French Film Wins Best Film

"Les Trous Noirs" by Lilian Corbeille wins top prize / Altogether 10 young filmmakers win awards

27-year-old director Lilian Corbeille from Paris is one of the big winners at this years' festival. His film Les Trous Noirs was awarded the VFF Young Talent Award (and € 7500) for Best Film on Saturday, November 19 at the award ceremony in the ARRI theater.

Lilian Corbeille studied at the famous French film school La Fémis in Paris. The jury, headed this year by German actor-writer-director Sebastan Schipper, called it a  momentous coming of age drama.

Altogether nine prizes totaling more than € 41,000 were awarded. The ARRI Award for Best Documentary went to Anne Maschlanka and Viktoria Gurtovaj from the Cologne film school.

Israeli film student Oshrat Meirovitch received the Special Prize of the Jury President for her drama Sister of Mine. Her co-student Golan Rise received the Prix Culturel for his film Barriers about the problems of a young soldier at an Israeli-Palestinian checkpoint. The award for the Best Production of a German Film - the Panther-Preis as well as the Nagelschneider Foundation's Climate Clips Award went to students at the Munich University of Television and Film. Best Screenplay went to Poland, Best Cinenatography to Italy and Great Britain received the ARTE Short Film Award.

For an entire week audiences packed the Filmmuseum theater and watched a total of 61 films from 26 countries. "It was a week of discoveries with a lot of very impressive films" said new organizer Diana Iljine. "With these talented newcomers we don't have to worry about the future of the medium." The public seems to agree. "Most of the screenings were sold out, even many in the early afternoon. There wasn't a single vacant seat."

All 2011 Prize Winning Films

For pictures of the gala award ceremony go to press photos on Sunday as of noon.