VIENNA FILM PRIZE
Jury: Valerie Fritsch, Miriam Hie, Rudi Klein, Teresa Rotschopf, Hans-Peter Wipplinger
For the eighth time, this year the Vienna Film Prize was awarded separately in both the “Feature Film” and “Documentary” categories. There are two equal prizes, each of which consists of monetary and material awards worth about 11,000 euros.
The Viennale would like to take this opportunity to thank BLAUTÖNE and viennaFX, and the Culture Department of the City of Vienna. Owing to the generosity and commitment of all involved, the Vienna Film Prize continues to represent encouragement and recognition of the work of Austrian filmmakers.
Feature Film
THANK YOU FOR BOMBING, Barbara Eder, A 2015
Excerpt from the jury’s decision:
THANK YOU FOR BOMBING tells the story of three war reporters during their assignment in Afghanistan, thrillingly narrated in three loosely connected episodes. In addition to these personal narratives, which are convincingly performed by the actors, the film primarily addresses media and socio-analytical issues. It is, therefore, about making it possible to distinguish between real information and propagandistic disinformation, be it in the example of war reporting, as in this film, or generally in everyday media coverage. THANK YOU FOR BOMBING contributes to a reflection on this subject.
Documentary
HOLZ ERDE FLEISCH, Sigmund Steiner, A 2016
Excerpt from the jury’s decision:
In his essayistic documentary, Sigmund Steiner, himself son of a farmer, follows three men while working in the woods, in the fields and on alpine pastures. He provides sensitive insight into their world of thoughts while creating a meta-level of the father-son conflict, which runs like a thread through the film. Steiner treats his protagonists with a gentleness that is tangible in every minute. As a result, he succeeds, also in a remarkable manner, in letting them tell their story – in a transparent way, with the camera seemingly forgotten – a story that is partly also Sigmund Steiner’s own.
VIENNALE STANDARD READERS’ JURY PRIZE
Jury: Hannes Fuchshofer, Maria Hirsch, Thomas Leitner, Fransa Routhin, Barbara Sorger
The Standard Readers’ Jury Prize goes to a film that does not yet have an Austrian distributor and is especially recommended for screening in Austrian cinemas. Should the award-winning film find a distributor, Der Standard supports its film run with free advertising space in its newspaper.
The STANDARD READERS’ JURY PRIZE goes to:
UNDER THE SHADOW, Babak Anvari, Iran/Jordan/Qatar/Great Britain 2016
Excerpt from the jury’s decision:
The specter of terror is haunting us – invisible, ungraspable. Out of historic events arises a domestic fiction that connects outer and inner war, oscillating between the concrete and disturbing generality. “Evil spirits travel on the wind” it says at some point in this film, which attacks our perception and merges formal elements. Every moment hits home in this cinematic trip, from which you neither can nor will tear yourself away.
FIPRESCI PRIZE (PRIZE OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FILM CRITICS)
Jury: Petra Erdmann (Radio FM4), Beat Glur (Berner Kulturagenda), Suncica Unevska (Nova Makedonija; Film Plus; Kinopis)
The FIPRESCI PRIZE is awarded to the first or second film of a young director.
The FIPRESCI PRIZE goes to:
BODKIN RAS, Kaweh Modiri, Netherlands/Belgium 2016
Excerpt from the jury’s decision:
The appearance of a mysterious stranger in a small Scottish town evokes feelings of alienation among the locals themselves. The film BODKIN RAS is impressive in the way it succeeds in showing the multiple aspects of social exclusion. Director and scriptwriter Kaweh Modiri crosses the thin line between fiction and documentary in a manner that is astounding from both a formal and narrative point of view.
ERSTE BANK’S ExtraVALUE FILM AWARD
Jury: Silvia Bohrn, Boris Manner, Franz Schwartz
Erste Bank’s ExtraVALUE Film Award was awarded for the sixth time at the Viennale 2016. An independent jury selected an award winner from films by Austrian directors shown at the festival. The prize includes a two-month residency in New York, travelling costs and a financial allowance.
Erste Bank’s ExtraVALUE Film Award is realized in collaboration with the Viennale, the Deutsches Haus at NYU and the Austrian Cultural Forum New York.
The ExtraVALUE Film Award goes to:
MISTER UNIVERSO, Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel, A/I 2016
and
MOGHEN PARIS – UND SIE ZIEHEN MIT, Katharina Copony, A/I 2016
Excerpt from the jury’s decision:
The jury unanimously chose two film productions. Upon the jury’s recommendation, the Erste Bank ExtraVALUE Film Award 2016 will be awarded to two films and include a one-month stay in New York for each director. The first prize-winner chosen by the jury is a feature film.
A charming, empathic and simultaneously optimistic film that is convincing due to the sympathy and authenticity of its protagonists. A story, just like life itself. A young man takes the disappearance of his talisman as an opportunity to leave his everyday life behind. He travels across Italy in search of the former “Mister Universo” in order to retrieve his lucky charm. An exceptional search for traces, conceived as a subtle journey of discovery with magical moments.
The ExtraVALUE Film Award 2016 goes to Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel for MISTER UNIVERSO.
The second prize-winner chosen by the jury is a documentary. A film that takes us on an atmospheric journey, carefully leading us from ancient cork oaks to a carnival procession in a Sardinian mountain village. It is a cinematic translation of a magical process. The magic is reflected in the social practice of the carnival, a movement that ultimately turns into collective rapture. The film shows a lively, captivating transformation in a structure that isn’t inscribed in memory, yet becomes visible in the actions of the people. The ExtraVALUE Documentary Film Award 2016 goes to Katharina Copony for MOGHEN PARIS – UND SIE ZIEHEN MIT.
