Honorary Awards were handed to German director Ulrike Ottinger and Italian actress Ottavia Piccolo for their exceptional film careers, and a total of ten additional prizes were awarded, on the penultimate day of Bolzano Film Festival Bozen. The international jury included Italian director and architect Andrea Bernard, German journalist Susanne Burg, Italian author Roberto Farneti, Swiss film critic and curator (as well as former Cinémathèque Suisse director) Frédéric Maire, and Austrian film scholar and curator Anna Ladinig.

The Award for Best Film, sponsored by the autonomous region of South Tyrol and endowed with €5,000, was given to a work “that takes a deeply empathetic view of human beings and explores their complexity without lapsing into sentimentality”: The Loneliest Man in Town by Austrian-Italian directorial duo Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel. The documentary is “a vivid portrait of universal significance” about Austrian musician Al Cook, which originally world-premiered at this year's Berlinale. Next up was the Special Prize of the Jury, endowed with €3,000, which went to the episodic fable Phantoms of July by German director Julian Radlmaier. The jury wished to give the award “to a film that is deeply political yet told with great lightness”.

The Distribution Award, worth €10,000 and sponsored by the autonomous region of South Tyrol, went to 17 by Macedonian filmmaker Kosara Mitic. The prize is intended to support a film during distribution beyond its festival run, especially in Italy. The jury said: “It is a film that must be seen, particularly by young audiences across Europe, as it addresses realities that, whilst specific to a particular place, are nonetheless extremely familiar”. A Special Mention went to Dry Leaf by Georgian helmer Alexandre Koberidze.

As for the Audience Award, endowed with €2,000 and sponsored by the city of Bolzano, the winner was Elon Musk Unveiled – The Tesla Experiment by German director Andreas Pichler. The “Dolomites UNESCO World Cultural Heritage” Special Prize, which comes with €1,000, was given to a movie from one of the regions forming the Dolomites cultural heritage area. The decision was made by a separate jury of four, and the prize had to go to a work that embraces the universal values of UNESCO, particularly those related to respect for our planet, and for the life and cultural identity of local communities. The winning flick was the documentary Melt by Austrian filmmaker Nikolaus Geyrhalter, on the topic of climate change. The jury said: “The film uses striking images and interviews to shed light on how people interact with snow from a wide variety of perspectives.”

The Filmclub jury was composed of seven members and gave out two awards in collaboration with the IDM Film & Music Commission South Tyrol. The winning feature, receiving prize money of €1,000 and described as “a true local hero and, for us, both an urgent and essential work”, was Non c'è casa in paradiso by Italian directors Federico Scienza and Manuela Boezio. The jury also gave a €1,000 prize to a short film from this year's selection, selecting Far finta che by Italian director Anna Ciju for the honour.

The Euregio young jury was made up of nine young people, who also had the chance to take part in a special film-criticism workshop. Their prize, endowed with €1,000, went to Romería by Carla Simón. Finally, a Special Prize was bestowed upon the aforementioned The Loneliest Man in Town by the student jury of the Zelig Film School in Bolzano.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Best Film
The Loneliest Man in Town – Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel (Austria)

Special Prize of the Jury
Phantoms of July - Julian Radlmaier (Germany)

Distribution Award
17 - Kosara Mitic (North Macedonia/Serbia/Slovenia)
Special Mention
Dry Leaf - Alexandre Koberidze (Germany/Georgia)

Audience Award
Elon Musk Unveiled – The Tesla Experiment - Andreas Pichler (Germany)

“Dolomites UNESCO World Cultural Heritage” Special Prize
Melt - Nikolaus Geyrhalter (Austria)

Young Jury Award for Best Film from the Euregio Region
Romería - Carla Simón (Spain/Germany)

IDM Film Commission Best Feature-length Film from the Euregio Region
Non c'è casa in paradiso - Federico Scienza, Manuela Boezio (Italy)

IDM Film Commission Best Short Film from the Euregio Region
Far finta che - Anna Ciju (Italy)

Zelig Filmschool Bolzano Award
The Loneliest Man in Town – Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel

Honorary Awards for an Exceptional Career
Ottavia Piccolo
Ulrike Ottinger