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AWARDS

FILMFEST HAMBURG will again award numerous prizes this year to producers, directors, German distribution companies, young filmmakers and personalities who have rendered outstanding services to the film and television industry. The audience decides on the best film of this year’s festival edition.

Hamburg Producers Award for German CINEMA Productions

  • The Hamburg Producers Award for German Cinema Productions is awarded as part of the section GROSSE FREIHEIT. The producer of the winning film will receive 25,000 euros. The prize money is provided by the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media.

 

Winners 2022

 

Tobias Walker, Philipp Worm (Walker + Worm Film) for Skin Deep (Director: Alex Schaad)

 

Jury statement

 

»The world is spinning so fast – especially today – that we get it with the fear of being thrown off. Or: to be pulled in an inner whirlpool – under the surface – all the way down. To the wound that we cannot share with anyone. Where we are absolutely lonely, alone with self-harm and depression. The winning film of the Hamburg Producer Award at the Filmfest Hamburg explores another possibility, that of sharing: sharing the pain, transferring the soul, exchanging the body and feeling the world anew as if through different skin. Very tenderly, very violently. The film Skin Deep by Alex Schaad skilfully builds a universe in which precisely this is possible: to change bodies with a stranger or a loved one. With a beguiling camera, a lusty ensemble and fantastic music, the filmmaker tells a story rich in sound and images. And – the jury finds – quite incidentally sketches the idea of a new human being, between the sexes and beyond old ideas of identity, asking dangerous questions and lurking with even more dangerous answers.«

 

Previous winners

 

2021 No One’s With the Calves Producers: Jonas Weydemann, Jakob Weydemann (Weydemann Bros., Hamburg)

 

 

Hamburg Producers Award for INTERNATIONAL Cinema Co-Productions

The Hamburg Producers Award for International Cinema Co-Productions is endowed with 25,000 euros provided by the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media and awarded to the German co-producer. The international production partner of the winning film receives a cinema grading worth around 15,000 euros from the Hamburg post-production company Optical Art.

 

Winners 2022

 

Michael Reuter, Saar Yogev, Naomi Levari (Electric Sheep) for Victim (director: Michal Blaško); Sol Bondy (One Two Films) for Holy Spider (Director: Ali Abbasi) Special Mention

 

Jury statement

 

»Two films have particularly moved us, because both films show how opinions and situations are taken over by radical forces and how groups in society are marginalised and existential human rights, such as dignity and freedom, are in danger. The Hamburg Producer Award for Best International Cinema Co-Production goes to the producers of Electric Sheep, Michael Reuter, Saar Yogev and Naomi Levari for the film Victim by Michal Blaško. The clever debut shows in a very fine and differentiated production how difficult it is to follow the truth in the field of tension between the various interests and the associated manipulations of civil society, politics and the media.

We would like to give a special mention to Holy Spider by Ali Abbasi and producer Sol Bondy of One Two Films. The film is a shocking reminder of the situation in Iran, which is so disrespectful to women, and we would like to express our solidarity and admiration for the courage of all the women who are currently taking to the streets in Iran and risking their lives in the name of freedom. Women, life, freedom!«

 

Previous winners

 

2021 Lingui German co-producer Melanie Andernach (Made in Germany Filmproduktion) / Cinema grading: pilifilms, Paris

  • 2019 You Will Die at Twenty German co-producer: Michael Henrichs (Die Gesellschaft DGS) / Cinema grading: Andolfi, Paris
    2018 Sibel German co-producer: Michael Eckelt (Riva Film, Hamburg) / Cinema grading: Les Films du Tambour, Paris
    2017 Arrythmia German co-producer: Eva Blondiau (Color of May, Berlin/Hamburg) / Cinema grading: Mars Media Entertainment, Moscow
    2016 Scarred Hearts German co-producer: Janine Jackowski, Jonas Dornbach, Maren Ade (Komplizen Film, Berlin) / Cinema grading: Hi Film Productions, Bucharest
    2015 One Floor Below German co-producer: Christine Haupt, Alexander Ris (Neue Mediopolis Filmproduktion, Leipzig) / Cinema grading: Multi Media Est, Bucharest
    2014 Welcome to Karastan German co-producer: Daniel Zuta (Brandstorm Entertainment, Frankfurt a.M.) / Cinema grading: 20 Stept Production, Tbilisi

Hamburg Producers Award for German TV Productions

The Hamburg Producer Award for German Television Productions is awarded in the TV section TELEVISIONEN. The producer of the winning film receives 25,000 euros. Since 2014, the prize money has been donated by the VFF, Verwertungsgesellschaft der Film- und Fernsehproduzenten. In addition, since 2021 a special prize for serial formats has been awarded since 2021. The prize money of 10,000 euros is also provided by the VFF. 

 

Winners 2022

 

TV Film

 

Christian Popp (Producers at Work Film) for The Capetown Miracle (Director: Franziska Buch)

 

Jury statement

 

»In our eyes, the production company Producers at Work has succeeded in combining a world-historical event with the theme of women’s struggle for professional recognition in an exciting and entertaining way. The race for the first heart transplant, which is told on film for the first time in The Capetown Miracle, also offers the opportunity to remember apartheid through a true black key figure.«

 

Serial Formats

 

Christian Beetz (gebrüder beetz filmproduktion) for Reeperbahn Special Unit 65 (Director: Georg Tschurtschenthaler, Carsten Gutschmidt, Ina Kessebohm)

 

Jury statement

 

»The production company Gebrüder Beetz alternates archive images and discreetly used fictional staging with interviews of neighbourhood celebrities and police officers in a narratively interesting way. With the first images, the fascination that the Reeperbahn exerts on Hamburgers and people all over the world becomes clear. The two episodes we saw immediately made us want to see more.«

 

Previous winners

 

2021 Sleepless in Portugal Producer: Jürgen Schuster (Fandango Film, Cologne)

  • 2018 Aufbruch in die Freiheit Producer: Heike Wiehle-Timm (Relevant Film GmbH Hamburg)
  • 2017 Meine fremde Freundin Director: Stefan Krohmer. Producers: Hubertus Meyer-Burckhardt and Christoph Bicker (Polyphon Film- und Fernsehgesellschaft Hamburg)           
  • 2016 Apropos Glück Director: Ulrike Grote. Producer: Heike Wiehle-Timm (Relevant Film GmbH Hamburg)
  • 2015 Frauen Director: Jan Ruzicka. Produzentin: Brit Possardt (Calypso Entertainment GmbH)
  • 2014 Polizeiruf 110: Familiensache Director: Eoin Moore. Producer: Iris Kiefer (filmpool fiction)
  • 2013 The TV Producers Award was not awarded
  • 2012 Mörderische Jagd Director: Markus Imboden. Producer: Claudia Schröder (Aspekt Telefilm-Produktion GmbH)
  • 2011 Tödlicher Rausch Director: Johannes Fabrick. Producer: Ulrich Aselmann (d.i.e. film GmbH)
  • 2010 Etwas Besseres als den Tod Director: Nicole Weegmann. Producers: Ralph Schwingel and Stefan Schubert (Wüste Film)
  • 2009 Mörder auf Amrum Director: Markus Imboden. Producer: Claudia Schröder (Bremedia Filmproduktion GmbH)
  • 2008 Machen wir’s auf Finnisch Director: Marco Petry. Producer: Astrid Kahmke (Bavaria Fernsehproduktion)
  • 2007 Kuckuckszeit Director: Johannes Fabrick. Producer: Babette Schröder (magnolia Filmproduktion)
  • 2006 Ich wollte nicht töten Director: Dagmar Hirtz (2006). Producers: Gloria Burkert and Andreas Bareiss (BurkertBareiss)

 

Previous Award Winners Special Award for Serial Formats

 

2021 Waiting for the bus Producers: Ulf Israel, Reik Möller (Senator Film, Berlin)

The Political Film of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

The Friedrich Ebert Foundation has been awarding prizes to socially engaged cinema since 2013. Documentaries and feature films in the »Veto!« section compete for the prize money of 5,000 euros. The prize is awarded for the best directorial work.

 

Winner 2022

 

How To Blow Up A Pipeline, Director: Daniel Goldhaber

 

Jury statement

 

»Where our society is under existential threat from many directions, political film in particular is of great importance as a source of inspiration. We were able to view outstanding examples of this subject that deal with the urgent questions of our time. We decided on a film that deals with the fight against climate catastrophe in an exciting, entertaining and uncompromising way. How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Daniel Goldhaber takes the classic heist as a model to take up a highly political debate and takes a clear position in the process. The film’s characters plan a spectacular act of sabotage for a variety of motivations. The ensemble of hardliners, lifestyle activists and those affected does not negate the social consequences of the action or its legal assessment, but simply considers the plan to be without alternative and justified. The plot thus gives a cinematic foretaste of possible radicalisation scenarios within the climate protection movement and their individual motives. One does not have to share the film’s stance, but recognise that it is particularly suited to triggering fruitful controversies and promoting the discussion about combating climate catastrophe.«

 

Previous winners

 

2021 La Civil Directed by Teodora Ana Mihai

Arthouse Cinema Award

The Arthouse Cinema Award of the International C.I.C.A.E. is supported by MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein. Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein with 5,000 Euros for PR measures of the German distributor. Nominations are open to films that are brought to German cinemas by a distributor. 

 

Winner 2022

 

Close Director: Lukas Dhont, Distributor: Pandora Film

 

Jury statement 

 

»We award the CICAE Art Cinema Prize Hamburg 2022 to a young filmmaker, who’s rich artistic voice has impressed us. Through his film he tells a deeply human story about love and loss, friendship and separation. With a firm sense of direction he leads his two young actors – on the brink of their teenage years – through a deeply emotional story. In using close-ups the director puts us in touch with the two brother-like boys, never forgetting their school and family life. The dynamic camera work allows us to participate fully in the boys world. We were especially impressed by the films ending: seeing the protagonist taking a step forward into adulthood overcoming the most traumatic experience of his young life. Lukas Dhont wins the Arthouse Cinema Award for his film Close. Congratulations!«

 

Previous winners

 

2021 Paris, 13th District Directed by Jacques Audiard

NDR Young Talent Award

The NDR Young Talent Award Award is presented to directors who are showing their feature film debut or their second directorial directorial work. The prize is endowed with 5,000 euros and is and is provided by the Norddeutscher Rundfunk.

 

Winner 2022

 

Love according to Dalva, Director: Emmanuelle Nicot

 

Jury statement

 

»Following the path of 12-year-old Dalva as she tries to be a child again after severe abuse has made a deep impression on us. Emmanuelle Nicot tells this story with emotional acuity and psychological precision, without ever exposing a character. The closeness, distance and respect that Emmanuelle Nicot maintains for each individual character always gives the viewer the opportunity to engage with the very moving and demanding subject matter like a satellite. Almost like a documentary, we follow the emotional life of the very engaging Zelda Samson in the title role, as well as the rest of the great ensemble. The cinematographer (Caroline Guimbal) and the costume designer (Constance Allain), with their attentive and loving eye for subtleties, are also part of this great cinema film…«

 

Previous winners

 

2021 Hive Directed by Blerta Basholli 

Critics’ Choice Award

Film critics and cultural editors from of German daily newspapers, radio stations and online media award the prize to a film from the programme that stands out which is distinguished by an original point of view. The prize is not endowed and is presented in cooperation with the Verband der deutschen Filmkritik. 

 

Winner 2022

 

R.M.N. Director: Cristian Mungiu; Special Mention: Dirty, Diffcult, Dangerous Director: Wissam Charaf

 

Jury statement

 

»’From home, everything is in the West’. This is true for the Transylvanian Saxon in the German slaughterhouse as well as for the subaltern labour migrant from Sri Lanka in the Transylvanian bread factory. Cristian Mungiu’s drama R.M.N. brings these two perspectives and many more together in a Romanian village. Historical conflicts between different ethnic groups erupt again with the arrival of the guest workers. In an impressively multi-layered way, Mungiu portrays male violence, racism and the failure of enlightenment. Local and global intertwine to create a poetic aporia: the real predators lurk at home.«

 

Honorable mention

 

»The jury gives an honourable mention to Wissam Charaf’s film Dirty Difficult Dangerous. In Beirut, an Ethiopian domestic worker and a Syrian war refugee lift their love alone out of everyday poverty and discrimination. A film that magically amalgamates the difficult into surprising lightness.«

 

Previous winners

 

2021 Vortex Directed by Gaspar Noé

FILMFEST HAMBURG AUDIENCE AWARD

The audience decides on the best film of the festival by ballot. Exceptions are the films of the TV section and the MICHEL Film Festival as well as the opening and closing film. The prize of 5,000 euros is provided for the first time by the Hapag-Lloyd Foundation. The FILMFEST HAMBURG Audience Award replaces the Commerzbank Audience Award, which has been donated annually by Commerzbank since 2015.

 

Winner 2022

 

Amerikatsi Director: Michael Goorjian

 

Previous winners

 

2021 Little Palestine, Diary of a Siege Directed by Abdallah Al-Khatib

MAJA

MAJA will be awarded for the first time this year. Endowed with 10,000 euros and donated by Hamburg cinema operator Hans-Peter Jansen, MAJA replaces the MICHEL Award. A jury of children and teenagers chooses their favourite from all films in the MICHEL programme.

 

Winner of the 2022 MICHEL Award

 

The Time of Secrets, Director: Christophe Barratier

 

Jury statement

 

»The content of the film deals with the story of Marcel. He remembers the time of his childhood and his childhood love at that time and his friend Lili. The atmosphere has something fairytale-like and takes the viewer:in on an exciting journey. The main protagonist in the film, Marcel, his childhood sweetheart Isabelle and his family were embodied by the actors in a believable and lively way! Provence, where the film was shot, is a beautiful region. The directors knew how to use this well. The melodies and sounds had a nice entourage effect. The music was appropriately chosen, for example the scene where Uncle Jules had sung a song for dinner. The content was well delivered and understandable, pulling the audience:inside along with it. The setting is beautiful and remains in the memory. It was also chosen to suit the story. The film is a great pleasure for children who are in the same age group as Marcel and Lili. But there are also surprising scenes for the older audience. For this reason, the film Mysterious Summers, has stood out from the other films.«

 

Previous winners

 

2021 The Ape Star Directed by Linda Hambäck

SCYTHIAN DEER NATIONAL COMPETITION

The Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival is organising its national competition with nominated Ukrainian short and feature films as part of FILMFEST HAMBURG. The best short film (2,000 USD & Scythian Deer Statuette) and the best feature film (3,000 USD & Scythian Deer Statuette) of the programme will be awarded.

 

Winners 2022

 

Short film

 

Leopolis Night, Director: Nikon Romanchenko; Special Mention: Dima, Dmitry, Dmytro Glory to the Heroes, Director: Clemens Poole

 

Jury statement

 

»What springs from the heart is bound to do the heart good. Roaming the bars and streets, laughter and love, awakening joy and happiness, depicting the simplicity of life and living in the moment through improvisation. The award for Best Short Film goes to Leopolis Night directed by Nikon Romanchenko.«

 

Feature film

 

Stop-Zemlia, directed by Kateryna Gornostai; Special Mention: Pamfir, directed by Dmytro Sukholytkiy-Sobchuk

 

Jury statement

 

»An authentic portrayal of the inner world, a profound self-discovery, an intelligent coming-of-age drama, a sensitive portrait of Ukrainian youth and a brave and radical director. The award for Best Feature Film goes to Stop-Zemlia directed by Kateryna Gornostai.«

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