Hysteria triumphs at the 35th Film Festival Cologne
by Olivia Popp
- Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay’s film leads the awards list, with the latest works by Kleber Mendonça Filho and Mstyslav Chernov winning the other top prizes
The 35th edition of Film Festival Cologne closed out its eight days of screenings, events and conferences with an awards ceremony honouring the festival’s top films and filmmakers. Hysteria [+see also:
film review
interview: Devrim Lingnau
interview: Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
film profile] by Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay secured the NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia) Film Award, sponsored by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the City of Cologne and the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW. Selected by a five-member jury, the prize goes to the best entry in the festival’s NRW Competition – the film must have production connections to the German region – and comes with a €20,000 monetary award.
The thriller, which premiered in the Panorama section at the Berlinale earlier this year and won the Europa Cinemas Label Award for Best European Film, follows a film shoot that turns chaotic after a Quran is burnt on set. Hysteria is set to be released in German cinemas starting on 6 November.
Acclaimed German filmmaker Werner Herzog took home the Cologne Film Award, a career achievement award endowed with 25,000 euros. The festival lauded his career of over 60 years and Herzog’s commitment to creating films across many genres and art forms, specifically highlighting his “world-famous documentaries”.
The International Actors Award went to German actress Maren Eggert and includes prize money of 10,000 euros, sponsored by Network Movie and MMC Studios Cologne. Known for I’m Your Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maria Schrader
film profile] – for which she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlinale in 2021 – and The Sparrow in the Chimney [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ramon and Silvan Zürcher
film profile], among others, she most recently played in Ulrich Köhler’s Gavagai [+see also:
film review
film profile], which opened Film Festival Cologne.
The Hollywood Reporter Award, presented to a director for their film, went to Kleber Mendonça Filho for The Secret Agent [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], selected from all of the fiction entries in the Top TV, Best of Cinema Fiction and Look categories. In the corresponding category for best documentary work, the phoenix Award, this year’s honour went to Mstyslav Chernov for 2000 Metres to Andriivka [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. This intense and pressing Ukrainian frontline documentary premiered at Sundance earlier this year and tells of a platoon seeking to liberate the titular Russian-occupied village.
As part of the framework of the festival but during the “Global Day. Stories for Change” Conference, three awards for campaigns dedicated to development policy engagement – such as raising awareness pertaining to climate change, poverty and conflict – were also handed out, an initiative that is now in its sixth year.
The full list of award winners:
NRW Film Award
Hysteria [+see also:
film review
interview: Devrim Lingnau
interview: Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
film profile] – Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay (Germany)
Cologne Film Award
Werner Herzog
International Actors Award
Maren Eggert
Hollywood Reporter Award for Best Fiction Work
Kleber Mendonça Filho – The Secret Agent [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Brazil/France/Germany/Netherlands)
phoenix Award for Best Documentary Work
Mstyslav Chernov – 2000 Metres to Andriivka [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Ukraine)
NRW Media Award for Development Policy Engagement
First prize
Besser Jetzt Als Peter. #StopDeepSeaMining – Greenpeace E.V.
Second prize
Ready to Recycle – MBRC the Ocean gGmbH
Third prize
#Road to Freedom: Auf den Spuren der Befreiung – Capa-Haus Leipzig x Leon Ziegler x Roofless Cat
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