Sponsored by VFF Verwertungsgesellschaft der Film und Fernsehproduzenten mbH

The VFF Documentary Film Production Award at the DOK.fest Munich is a unique event in Germany that focuses on the work of documentary film producers. The prize is endowed with 7,500 euros and is donated by VFF Verwertungsgesellschaft der Film und Fernsehproduzenten mbH. It will be awarded for the third time in 2020.

This year, the VFF Documentary Film Production Award goes to Eva Illmer (production) and Halina Dyrschka (director, production) for her work on JENSEITS DES SICHTBAREN - HILMA AF KLINT.

The jury's statement:

JENSEITS DES SICHTBAREN - HILMA AF KLINT is not only a convincing debut film that adequately translates the colourful abstract fantasy worlds of the Swedish painter Hilma af Klint into cinema images; its theme is both discovery and revelation, even for an audience with an affinity for culture. What is completely astonishing about this film, however, is that the modest financial framework conditions of its creation are in no way apparent: Cinema quality and production value are obviously not only a question of money, but also have a lot to do with the commitment, the creative will and the talent for improvisation of the people behind the camera.

An Award for the German Documentary Film Industry

The importance of producers for documentary films cannot be overestimated. Far more than in a feature film, the production of a documentary film is accompanied by imponderables, because the plot often results from the events surrounding the protagonist only in the course of the process. The shooting can only be fixed to fixed days to a limited extent, the locations are usually changing, depending on the history and whereabouts of the protagonists. As a result, the amount of material shot is extensive and the montage of the film is usually time-consuming. Every documentary film demands an open approach from the directing team and the production, always in connection with costs that cannot be calculated precisely and often with tight budgets. Being a producer in the documentary film sector means one thing above all else: having courage. The VFF Documentary Film Production Award is intended to honour the role of producers in the creation of current documentary film projects.

Foundation and awarding of the prize

The award is donated by the VFF Verwertungsgesellschaft der Film und Fernsehproduzenten mbH and is endowed with prize money of 7,500 euros. The award takes place as part of the DOK.fest Munich at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film.

Conditions of participation

Films that meet the following criteria are eligible for preselection for the VFF Documentary Film Production Award:

• cinema film production with a minimum length of 72 minutes
• at least 51% German production participation
• Publication after 1st January, 2019
• Public screening at the festival
• University films (including graduation films) are not permitted

The selection for the VFF Documentary Film Production Award is based on the following criteria:

• Commitment to the selection of a challenging subject
• Commitment to the composition of financing
• Creativity / innovation in the composition of financing
• Creative / innovative evaluation of the film
• Creative input from production

Contact

DOK.fest München
VFF Dokumentarfilm-Produktionspreis
z.Hd. Florina Vilgertshofer
Dachauer Straße 114
80636 München

Tel.: 089 51 399 788
Email: vilgertshofer@dokfest-muenchen.de

VFF Verwertungsgesellschaft der Film- und Fernsehproduzenten mbH is the collecting society of German commissioned producers, public broadcasters, private broadcasters and some regional television broadcasters. The shareholders are the Alliance of German Producers, the Federal Association of German Television Producers, Südwestrundfunk and Second German Television.