The Donkey's New Groove

They came, they saw, they decided: The juries of the 70th IFFMH have just announced the winning films of the festival at the Award Ceremony at the Luxor.

The International Newcomer Award, worth 30,000 euros, goes to ›Il Buco‹ by Michelangelo Frammartino. "This film impressed us with its unique voice, the sensations and contours of exploration and its seductive cinematic thoughtfulness - a visual voyage of discovery, a thriller of physical as well as emotional sensations," reads the citation of the International Jury consisting of Kathleen McInnis, Michelle Carey and Nicolas Wackerbarth. Also awarded by the International Jury: The Rainer Werner Fassbinder Award for Best Screenplay, presented this year to ›Zero Fucks Given‹ by Julie Lecoustre and Emmanuel Marre. The trio was impressed by the script development on location, the playful way the authors deal with the global precariat, the punishing reaction to showing human feelings and the cat-and-mouse games during job interviews and in customer service, where one has to perform constantly. The Japanese entry from the competition, ›Haruhara-san's Recorder‹ by Kyoshi Sugita, was awarded an Honourable Mention.

The winning film of the FIPRESCI Awards is the US indie drama ›The Sleeping Negro‹ by Skinner Myers, in which anger at the political system coincides with political analysis. The FIPRESCI jury on the selection: "With its unique film language, it is blunt, elegant and at the same time deeply human."

The Ecumenical Award will be given to Antoinette Boulat's ›My Night‹, which the jury calls a magical cinema moment.

This year, the Young Jury presents the Award of the Student Jury to ›The First Fallen‹, in which director Rodrigo de Oliveira explores an important part of LGBTQ history. Through formal and textual precision, the film succeeds in bringing the suffering of the victims of the AIDS epidemic closer to the audience in an authentic way that goes beyond classical dramaturgy.