10/10/2023 - After ten days of presenting 132 features from 48 countries, the German gathering has rewarded a slew of politically and socially relevant films

l-r: outgoing festival director Albert Wiederspiel; Saskia Egger, managing director of award sponsor Hapag-Lloyd AG; In the Rearview director Maciek Hamela; and Nils Haupt, head of Publicity at Hapag Lloyd AG (© Martin Kunze/Filmfest Hamburg)

The longing for a life in a liberal world was a characteristic of various films that were presented at the 31st edition of Filmfest Hamburg. “In times of political displacement, war and climate catastrophes, it is even more important to query the world through art,” stated Albert Wiederspiel, the outgoing director of Filmfest Hamburg. “Film is the most emotional art form, which can highlight politically relevant topics.”

The 31st edition opened with Inshallah a Boy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the first feature by Jordanian filmmaker Amjad Al Rasheed, which is about a woman who doesn’t have any rights any more after her husband passes away. Another powerful debut feature is Shayda by Noora Niasar, which is based on her childhood memories. In it, an Iranian woman living with her husband and daughter in Australia has to escape to a women’s shelter because her husband can’t accept her Western lifestyle. In the Ukrainian drama How Is Katia? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christina Tynkevych
film profile] by Christina Tynkevych, a single mother's life enters a downward spiral when her daughter dies in an accident.

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In total, Filmfest Hamburg presented 132 features from 48 countries, among them the titles from the national competition programme of the Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival. The documentary In the Rearview [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Maciek Hamela takes place entirely in a single car. The filmmaker drives with his minivan through Ukraine to save women, children and elderly people who are on the run. The camera looks directly into their faces, as if in a rear-view mirror, while the people tell short and precise excerpts of their life stories. Every now and then, the view through the window takes us outside and shows us images of destruction that are similar to what we have seen on television. Sometimes, the driver has to change course because there are mines on the road or because a bridge no longer exists. This anti-war film shows the war at close range, from the point of view of the victims.

In Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Radu Jude
film profile] by Radu Jude, an overworked production assistant has to take a trip through Bucharest in order to cast protagonists for a video about “Security in the Workspace”. When it turns out that a man has been paralysed on one side owing to a company’s negligence, she is forced to reinvent his story. Driving Mum [+see also:
film review
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interview: Hilmar Oddsson, Hera Hilmar
film profile] by Icelandic writer-director Hilmar Oddsson is a quirky road movie that was shot in black and white, in CinemaScope format. In the 1970s, a strange man places his dead mother on the back seat of his old car and takes her on a journey through the country. Meanwhile, the German documentary Heaven Can Wait - Wir leben jetzt by Sven Halfar features a group of seventy-something members of the Hamburg-based “Heaven Can Wait” choir, who use their songs to express the fact that life doesn’t have to be over at an older age. One of the audience favourites was the documentary Wonderland, which gives a fascinating insight into the Hamburg-based miniature world that has become a European-wide crowd-puller.

The development of technology and artificial intelligence was also addressed in several films. The documentary Total Trust [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Jialing Zhang shows the surveillance system in China, which is used to restrict individual freedom and human rights. The film follows three protagonists, who have the guts to refuse to accept the total control imposed by the state. This existential fight for justice and freedom also gives a glimpse into the near future. In the science-fiction dystopia The Beast [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bertrand Bonello
film profile] by Bertrand Bonello, AI has already taken control of humans. Furthermore, the use of artificial intelligence in the development of films was a topic that was discussed at the fourth Explorer Conference, as part of the five-day Industry Days.

A heartfelt farewell and a “thank you for the movies” present was given to festival director Albert Wiederspiel. After 21 years, he is handing over the management of Filmfest Hamburg to Malika Rabahallah, who is currently the head of support for international co-productions, animation and series at the Hamburg-based Moin Film Fund. “One should leave when things are at their most beautiful,” said Wiederspiel. “I wish my successor a good start in the most beautiful job in the world.”

Here is the complete list of award winners at the 31st Filmfest Hamburg:

Political Film Award
In the Rearview [+see also:
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film profile] - Maciek Hamela (France/Poland/Ukraine)

Critics' Choice Award
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Radu Jude
film profile] - Radu Jude (Croatia/France/Luxembourg/Romania)

Scythian Deer Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival Award
How Is Katia? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christina Tynkevych
film profile] - Christina Tynkevyc (Ukraine)

Douglas Sirk Award
Sandra Hüller (Germany)

Arthouse Cinema Award
How to Have Sex [+see also:
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interview: Molly Manning Walker
film profile] - Molly Manning Walker (UK/Greece)

Hamburg Audience Award
Heaven Can Wait - Wir leben jetzt - Sven Halfar (Germany)

Michel Award for Best Children's and Youth Film
Totem [+see also:
interview: Sander Burger
film profile] - Sander Burger (Netherlands/Luxembourg/Germany)

NDR Young Talent Award
Shayda - Noora Niasari (Australia)

International Cinema Co-production Award
Sultana's Dream [+see also:
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interview: Isabel Herguera
interview: Isabel Herguera
film profile] - Isabel Herguera (Spain/Germany)

German Cinema Production Award
A Good Place [+see also:
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interview: Katharina Huber
film profile] - Katharina Huber (Germany)

German Television Production Award
Sörensen Catches Fire - Bjarne Mädel (Germany)

Special Prize for Serial Formats
Füxe - David Clay Diaz, Susan Gordanshekan (Germany)