The award winners of the 39th DOK.fest München
We are pleased to present the award winning films of DOK.fest München 2024 bit by bit and congratulate all the winners!
In the three competition series DOK.international Main Competition, DOK.deutsch Competition and DOK.horizonte Competition – Cinema of Urgency, the films at the 39th International Documentary Film Festival Munich compete for the VIKTOR – the award statue donated by the sponsoring association of DOK.fest München. In addition, 13 other top-class awards will be presented. A total of 65,100 euros in prize money will be awarded.
German Documentary Film Music Award
MY STOLEN PLANET
Composition: Atena Eshtiaghi
Director and author: Farahnaz Sharifi
As early as 8th March 1979, shortly after the Islamic revolution, Iranian women protested against the compulsory wearing of headscarves. MY STOLEN PLANET acts as a reminder of their on-going struggle for freedom and the discrepancy between private and public life. Archive images, Super-8, VHS and mobile phone footage document personal acts of resistance and joie de vivre that call out for “Woman! Life! Freedom!” Silvia Bauer
From the jury statement: “The film music by Atena Eshtiaghi (*1989 in Iran) is particularly effective because of what it does not do. She avoids the conventions of illustrative film music and instead uses silence as a stylistic device for this equally radical and personal film by Farahnaz Sharif. The director’s private video archive of old Super 8 recordings, edited together with footage of current demonstrations, is highly politically charged against the backdrop of the comprehensive ban on images in Iran. Atena Eshtiaghi gives strong expression to these messages of uncensored life by accompanying the images with minimalist patterns rather than pathetically exaggerating them. This creates a sense of distance and, at the same time, creates spaces of time in which a great sadness is inscribed. Eshtiaghi’s music does not clothe the film in a pleasing rhythm, rather it emphasizes the heterogeneity and creates a resonance space for what the film is about through its precise texture: Isolation, resistance, hope.”
Jury: Nina Goslar (Film editorial department at ZDF/ARTE), David Langhard (Musician, composer and producer; Award winner 2023), Grete Liffers (Producer, writer and director), Thomas Meinecke (Writer, musician and DJ) and Armando Merino (Conductor)
The award is endowed with 5,000 euros. The composer of the film is being honoured. It is donated by the Versicherungskammer Kulturstiftung.
DOK.edit Award – presented by Adobe
KIX
Editing: Yaël Bitton and Károly Szalai
Directors: Bálint Révész and Dávid Mikulán
“It might look like we’re just playing. But this is no game, it is dead serious.” Nobody suspects how much truth lies in Sanyi’s statement when Dávid Mikulán embarks on 10 years of filming the young man. From his cramped flat, where his whole family shares a bedroom and there is no room to breathe, Sanyi escapes to the streets of Budapest with his friends. Katharina Dolles
From the jury statement: "In its expressive montage, KIX follows the exuberant energy of its youthful protagonist with great empathy and speed, while at the same time managing to tell the story of what coming-of-age means in the shadow of Victor Orbán's authoritarian Hungary without any voyeurism of misery and with a committed sensibility. The desolate world of Sanyi and his family is directly reflected in the editing, making it possible to physically experience the different aggregate states of Sanyi's life: sometimes breathless, chaotic, wild, then slow, lost and depressive. In quiet moments of melancholy and loneliness, a utopia flashes between the images: Sanyi's fate could have been different. With their radically elliptical narrative style, the two editors succeed in artfully transporting the viewer into the life of Sanyi and his family, as it were."
Jury: Anja Pohl (Film editor), Michael Palm (Editor, filmmaker and sound designer) and Marc Haenecke (Editor, screenwriter and director)
The award was developed in cooperation with Adobe, who are also the sponsors of the 5,000 euros award. Its aim is to shed light on the post-production of documentary films and to honour the work of editors. Films with outstanding editing work are nominated. The prize is awarded across all series.
VFF Documentary Film Production Award
LAND DER VERLORENEN KINDER
Editing: Oliver Stoltz
Director: Juan Camilo Cruz and Marc Wiese
Mismanagement and corruption plunge Venezuela into chaos. Children in particular are suffering hardship. The film shows their harsh reality: violence, drugs, murder and hunger. In Maracaibo two women fight the misery. Carolina’s children’s home is an oasis amid the violence. Kiara flees to Columbia with her children. A film about a country that risks losing an entire generation. Pablo Bücheler
From the jury statement: "It is impressive to see the adverse conditions under which Oliver Stoltz and his team made this film: Without the protection of a gang of youths, filming on location would have been too dangerous; professional camera equipment had to be smuggled in over the border. In a country where foreign camera teams are monitored at every turn, a project like this can only succeed with the utmost conspiracy. To this end, the producer used a local crew. Oliver Stoltz has proven to have nerves of steel and deserves public recognition for the successful completion of this film: in this case, the VFF Documentary Film Production Award 2024."
Jury: Judith Erber (Head of the funding department and consultant at FFF Bayern), Thomas Frickel (Author, director and producer) and previous year`s winner Hauke Wendler (Author, director and producer)
The award was developed in cooperation with Adobe, who are also the sponsors of the 5,000 euros award. Its aim is to shed light on the post-production of documentary films and to honour the work of editors. Films with outstanding editing work are nominated. The prize is awarded across all series.
DOK.fest Award of SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit
A NEW KIND OF WILDERNESS
Regisseurin: Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
The Norwegian photographer Maria Gros Vatne and her husband Nik decide they want to live close to nature with their four children. The family wants to be free, independent and live self-sufficiently. The children are educated at home. However the idyll comes to an abrupt end: after Maria’s tragic death, the family are forced to rethink how they wish to live and find a way back to modern society. Barbara Off
From the jury statement: “Silje Evensmo Jacobsen guides us through A NEW KIND OF WILDERNESS with outstanding dramaturgy. A play of light and shadow and a great cinematic aesthetic take us on this adventure. The film shows a way of life that raises questions about how we all deal with nature and thus poses socio-political questions in a subtle way: How do we live in this world, what do we do with our nature and how do our children learn to relate to environment and nature? In a touching way that makes the viewer immerse deeply in the story, Silje Evensmo Jacobsen evokes deep emotions and calls for reflection about our planet.”
Jury: Prof. Michaela Braun (Member of the friends of SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit), Dr. Ulrich Brochhagen (Managing Director ARD Coordination Documentation), Prof. Nadia Kailouli (Journalist and professor of television journalism), Christine Kehrer (Head of TV/Video SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit), Michaela May (Actress), Prof. Dr. jur. Heribert Prantl (Former member of the Editorship, now Columnist and Author of SZ) and Heike Schnaar (ZDF)
The DOK.fest Award of SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit is donated by B.O.A Videofilmkunst and endowed with 3,000 euros. It honours films across all series that make the perspectives of children and young people visible and tangible in a remarkable way. The award will be presented at DOK.fest München 2024 for the eleventh time.
