The award winners 2021
The Festival jury:
"This film portrays a tender and rather unusual bond in a relationship defined by the disability of a brother who is autistic. The camerawork embraces the natural beauty of human beings in all their imperfection — physical, mental, and emotional. It is particularly courageous for a Russian filmmaker to tackle and discuss such a subject, which in many societies is a taboo. This makes this film all the more valuable. The jury has unanimously decided to present the VFF Young Talent Award to REGIME CHANGE."
The ARTE jury:
"In a waiting room at a train station in the Czech Republic,
a relationship drama plays out between two completely different couples.
Homosexuality, discrimination, adultery, love, and separation: all the big social issues are dealt with in the smallest of spaces and in two different languages.
The story of these two couples keeps us in constant suspense, and we don’t know how it will conclude until the very end.
MUST BE PAINFUL by David Semler succeeds in recounting the great dramas of our time in an intense, atmospheric chamber play lasting only 15 minutes.
Our sincere congratulations on receiving the ARTE Short Film Prize."
The Wolfgang Längsfeld jury:
"Furious, frenetic, and poetic. The jury is thrilled to celebrate a movie that jolted us into a bold cinematic experience that never settles for comfortable storytelling.
A young woman’s brutal effort to overcome an environment of extreme pressure is broadened into a collage of individual struggles, forming a collective portrait, an explosive mirror of our times, in which the need to succeed at all costs creates a society on the brink of crashing and burning.
Ambitious filmmaking choices, beautiful performances, and an experimental take on the narrative tradition culminate in a manic, ruthless, and stunning climax. If winning means being alone, we invite this brave filmmaker to keep pushing his craft, to take the stage and enjoy a moment of solitude with all of us. The award unanimously goes to HARMONIA by Thom Lunshof."
The Festival jury:
"As times change, so, too, does the way people communicate, especially in this period of isolation. This film offers an unusual perspective on how people, each in their own way, experience loneliness, look for creative ways of staying in touch, and find joy during troubled times. The award for best documentary goes to A DANCE FOR THE END OF THE WORLD."
The Festival jury:
"In a necessary outcry against binary and systemic oppression, mutilated bodies lead us to an artistic and powerful explosion that challenges the audience’s awareness. The zweiB Award for best animation goes to SCUM MUTATION."
The Festival jury:
"On a glimmering and shimmering ray of light refracted by the water, this poetic film takes us inside the mind of an adolescent boy. The exquisite photography and precise framing within a technically challenging environment create a uniquely sensual atmosphere. The award for best cinematography goes to THE WATER’S WHISPER."
The Festival jury:
"With nationalism on the rise all over Europe, this film uses words, humor, and a precise visual style to raise some vital questions and show how anyone, even a teenage girl at school, can resist and stand up for their own values. For having the great courage to make such a film in these critical times, we present the award for best production of a European film to LAND OF GLORY."
The Interfilm Jury:
"In keeping with the motto "Clothes make the man," shoes are filmed by passers-by in Munich who, when asked about their shoes, talk about themselves and their own view of life. A cautious, Socratic way of questioning, always focused on the shoes, and a partially iconographic camera promote intercultural dialogue. In the process, the most diverse attitudes to life, views of life of the passers-by of different origins are expressed and cleverly stimulate the viewer:s own reflection."
The Festival jury:
"Surrounded by the shadow of death, the absence of a father, and an abandoned place, an intriguing yet speechless family tale is spun, filled with unexpressed feelings that leave us touched and uneasy in equal measure. The award for best screenplay goes to PLAY DEAD."
The Climate Clips jury:
"In this video clip, the winner of the Climate Clips Award argues that the fashion industry and unthinking consumers be taken to task for practices that are harmful to the climate. Scenes of luxuriant nature are juxtaposed with hard facts that illustrate the contradictions. This appeal for more restraint and conservation of natural resources is directed at all of us. The jury sincerely congratulates the two directors and the team on receiving the 1st prize of the Climate Clips Award."
The Climate Clips jury:
"The retreat of glaciers around the world is also threatening the sacred mountain revered by Colombia’s indigenous Uwa people, as it feeds their rivers. Evoking the beauty it once had in the 1990s, this documentary reveals the present-day threat from climate change, of which an animation gives a warning and a call to action. The jury awards the 2nd prize of the Climate Clips Award to this film and offers its congratulations on addressing global change that is affecting every continent equally."
The Climate Clips jury:
"EARTH, an animated film for a campaign called “Plastic not fantastic”, demonstrates with great urgency how our handling of plastic is becoming fatal — to humans as well as animals. Without words, but accompanied by musical tones and other sounds in a soundtrack composed by students at the Claudio Abbado Civic Music School, this clip symbolically illustrates in mere seconds the devastating consequences of our consumption of plastic. With the 3rd prize of the Climate Clips Award, the jury offers its thanks for a well-done performance of the motto “Let me breathe” / “Consuma senza plastica”."
