Ecumenical Award

This award is given to a work in the ON THE RISE competition that demonstrates high artistic quality and expresses a human point of view that is in line with the Scriptures or encourages an examination of the biblical tradition and sensitises the audience to spiritual, social or ethical values.

This award is presented by the Ecumenical Jury, which consists of five members of the inter-church film networks INTERFILM and SIGNIS. Mannheim is one of the first film festivals ever to establish a church jury: The church jury has been present at the film festival in Mannheim (and later Mannheim-Heidelberg) since 1963, initially under the name INTERFILM, and since 1995 together with the Catholic partner organisation SIGNIS as the Ecumenical Jury.