Young Actors Award

The Young Actors Award will be presented for the first time in 2024 and honors an outstanding acting performance by an up-and-coming actor. The award thus continues the IFFMH's rich tradition of promoting up-and-coming filmmakers with a forward-looking focus. The award is endowed with 10,000 euros and, with the exception of the Retrospective, is presented across all sections of the festival. From three nominated young actors* who will be shown at the festival, the international jury will honor what it considers to be the most outstanding performance. The prize is sponsored by the Heidelberg-based consultancy cbs.

Laura Weissmahr

Laura Weissmahr is a multinational actress from Catalonia who has appeared in seven productions to date. These include ›Fanatico‹ by Roger Gual and ›The Offspring‹ by Ventura Durall. She is awarded for her leading role in ›Salve Maria‹. She plays a mother who is unable to develop positive feelings for her baby. The way in which the actress succeeds in translating the film's diverse tonalities between horror, thriller and comedic elements into her performance is remarkable. Her emotional expression changes from scene to scene, sometimes from one moment to the next, and always strikes the right note.

Ariella Mastroianni

Ariella Mastroianni is a Canadian-American actress, author and musician. She has appeared in five productions to date, including several by American director Bruce Wemple. Together with director Ryan J. Sloan, she founded the production company Telstar Films and wrote the screenplay for ›Gazer‹. She is nominated for her convincing portrayal of a young mother with a treacherous illness in ›Gazer‹. The range of her acting from focus to illness-induced somnambulistic derangement and from fear to courage and love for her film daughter is impressive.

Ghjuvanna Benedetti

Ghjuvanna Benedetti is a French actress. She is a newcomer in the true sense of the word. Her role as the daughter of a Corsican clan boss in ›The Kingdom‹, for which she is nominated here, is her first ever in a movie. Her extraordinary screen presence is all the more astonishing. She won over the IFFMH program team with her emotionally multifaceted and powerful acting between anxiety, sadness, fear and anger as well as her successful expression of vulnerability and strength.