The Viktors of the 37th DOK.fest Munich were awarded May 14. All awards follow, including the Industry awards that were handed out May 12. On May 21 the kinokino Audience Award will be announced.
VIKTOR DOK.international Main Competition (€10,000)
- Trenches by Loup Bureau. From the jury statement: Without any showmanship, with great respect for his protagonists and using black and white footage that emphasises the timelessness of war, Bureau documents life in the trenches, the shovelling of earth and securing of defences that takes place daily, but also the cooking, the cutting of hair, the talking. The calm that Bureau’s images radiate is of course a deceptive one and this is something that we, even as viewers, cannot forget for a second. At any moment there can be another attack. And there is. The urgency of the film has increased immeasurably since its completion in 2021.
VIKTOR DOK.deutsch (€5,000)
- Zusammenleben (Living Together) by Thomas Fürhapter. From the jury statement: A precisely composed documentary that breaks down barriers in a cultural process that not only focuses on the protagonists, but intentionally connects the audience to a deep cultural experience that deconstructs stereotypes.
VIKTOR DOK.horizonte (€5,000)
- No Simple Way Home by Akuol de Mabior. From the jury statement: The jury was particularly inspired by the positive and pragmatic nature of the protagonist, who faces up to her duty against all odds. NO SIMPLE WAY HOME by Akuol de Mabior tells the story of South Sudan’s political leadership in a very direct and intimate way and at the same time is the chronicle of a family with a strong mother-daughter relationship.
FFF Talent Award Documentary Film (€5,000)
- Hoamweh Lung by Felix Klee. From the jury statement: The jury was impressed by the courage with which Klee crafted his own design language. This is not a film of romantic nostalgia, but rather an attempt to capture the feeling of parting and loss using various stylistic devices that are unusual in this context and to express it in laconic images and just a few words. A quiet film about questions that don’t have just one answer.
Documentary Film Award of Goethe-Institut (€2,000)
- Liebe, D-Mark und Tod (Love, Deutschmark and Death) by Cem Kaya. From the jury statement: One film in particular persuaded the jury with its impressive and thoroughly researched story that will resonate with countless people around the world. The film is full of spirit and rhythm, reflection and emotion in equal measure. The filmmaker has succeeded in making tangible and acknowledging the story of Turkish migration to Germany and its contribution to the country through music.
megaherz Student Award
- Pushing Boundaries by Lesia Kordonets. From the jury statement: Lesia Kordonets takes us on the journey of the Ukrainian Paralympic team with great courage and without pathos. Overnight, the occupation of Crimea takes away almost all their chances of remaining as successful as they once were. Lesia’s athletes are everyday heroes who suddenly come up against sporting, political and existential limits and yet tirelessly give their all to achieve their goals. In the film, each story is told unobtrusively and at eye level. PUSHING BOUNDARIES, that means pushing boundaries, expanding borders.
PRIZES ALREADY AWARDED
German Documentary Film Music Award (€5,000)
- Mein gestohlenes Land (This Stolen Country of Mine). Composition: Carsten Nicolai aka Alva Noto. Director: Marc Wiese. From the jury statement: Alva Noto’s music lends an intense power to the struggle of a mountain village in subtle ways. It delicately and precisely accentuates the film’s disturbing theme – and often brings us closer to it than we would like. Close, but not without restraint, it pauses and holds back when the images and protagonists testimonies speak for themselves. It reflects the dark shadows as well as the nascent glimmers of hope in collective resistance.
DOK.fest Award of SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit (€3,000)
- Children of the Mist by Ha Le Diem. From the jury statement: Having established a close relationship with her protagonists, the director Diem Ha Le has succeeded in creating an artistically outstanding film of great social relevance with plenty of room for nuance: even in this remote region of the world, women and girls struggle for their rights and are torn between tradition and independence.
DOK.edit Award – presented by Adobe (€5,000)
- Daughters by Jenifer Malmqvist. From the jury statement: The editing of the film takes us by the hand interweaving the different periods of time, leaving gaps and even allowing for speechlessness…Åsa Mossberg and Line Schou have succeeded in interweaving the different phases of processing this painful experience into a flowing whole.
VFF Documentary Film Production Award
- 1001 Nights Apart. Producers: Sarvnaz Alambeigi (Rabison Art Production), Stefan Tolz and Thomas Riedelsheimer (Filmpunkt GmbH) and Louise Rosen (Louise Rosen Ltd.). Director: Sarvnaz Alambeigi. From the jury statement: In realising this extraordinary film project, the production team has shown great commitment, creativity and willingness to take risks. In particular, the Iranian director and producer Sarvnaz Alambeigi of the production company Rabison Art Production made a massive advance commitment: she not only had to guarantee the safety of the protagonists and the team, but also had to pre-finance a considerable part of the production costs.
AWARD WINNERS DOK.FORUM INDUSTRY PLATFORM
DOK.digital – Award for New Digital Formats (€2,500)
- Sneakerjagd by Benedikt Dietsch, Lorenz Jeric. From the jury statement: Sneakerjagd impressively shows how journalism can interpret a topic in an imaginative way and reach a wide community. By including prominent people from a large variety of professional fields, the project appeals to a broad target group and brings them closer to the very relevant topic of “fast fashion” in an entertaining way.
DOK.talent Award (€2,500)
- Von Pflanzen und Menschen (Of Plants and Men) by Antshi von Moos. From the jury statement: Antshi von Moos’ film shows scientifically and artistically the myriad ways plants communicate and thus encourages a change in our perspective which is long overdue. To look at the world through the eyes of plants, so to speak, without anthropomorphizing them, requires courage, creativity and also ‘esprit.’
DOK.composition Award (€2,500)
- I Don’t Want to be Just a Memory by Bráulio Bandeira, Kei Watanabe, Sarnt Utamachote, Klaus Salminen. From the jury statement: “With the DOK.composition Award, we honour the willingness to take risks, the reflexive approach to the limits of the experimental, and the innovative forces that such creative processes can generate. (…) The bold performances at the pitches were sensual and poetic and left us wanting more.”
DOK.archive Award (archive material worth €15,000 or alternatively €2,500).
- I Used to be the Mayor by Alexander Sussmann, Karoline Henkel. With the award, British Pathé and DOK.forum want to promote projects that work with licensed material. From the jury statement: The jury were impressed by this rich story and the way in which the team planned to combine archive and animation to bring history to life for a younger audience.
DOK.series Award (€2,500)
- Memory Wars by Hendrik Löbbert, Erik Winker, Daniela Dieterich. From the jury statement: In the planned 4-part miniseries, the intense examination of the main protagonist’s personality, work and world makes clear the immense field of tension in which truth is negotiated. (…) From our point of view, the documentary series has the potential to initiate discourse and to take the audience out of their comfort zone. In this sense, we wish the team great success with the project.
DOK.edit Award – presented by Adobe (€5,000)
- Daughters by Åsa Mossberg, Line Schou. From the jury statement: The editing of the film takes us by the hand interweaving the different periods of time, leaving gaps and even allowing for speechlessness…Åsa Mossberg and Line Schou have succeeded in interweaving the different phases of processing this painful experience into a flowing whole.
MENTORING AND FESTIVAL AWARDS
- DAE Talent Award: I Look Like My Mother by Amina Maher (director), Lorena Junghans, Fabian Altenried and Sophie Ahrens (production) and a Special Mention of It was Raining and then I Remembered it was the Day of Fiery Mary by Branislav Jankic (director) and Jelena Angelovski (production)
Doc Around Europe Award
- DocsBarcelona: Plato’s Cave by Valerie von Kittlitz (director) and Alex Tondowski (production)
- FIPADOC: I Used to be the Mayor by Alexander Sussmann (director), Laszlo Josza and Karoline Henkel (production)
- Nebulae Project Selection Award: I Don’t Want to be Just a Memory by Sarnt Utamachote (director and production), Klaus Salminen (production), Braulio Bandeira and Kei Watanabe (composition)
- Sunny Side of the Doc Award: Power as Pathology by Sarita West (director), Rob Waugh (composition) and Gregg Mitman (production)
