If you happen to have a newly built film studio in Vienna, you may very well get to host the Austrian Film Awards there. So, after stints at Marx Halle and Vienna City Hall, the awards ceremony took place on 12 June at the hq7 studios in the south of the city for the very first time. 1,000 guests were part of the event, whose motto this year was “Screen lives”.

Where there is life, there is death. In this case, the awards show (like all events in Austria) was overshadowed by the fatal shooting at a secondary school in Graz two days prior. The Austrian Film Academy’s presidents, Verena Altenberger and Arash T Riahi, stated at the beginning of the event: “What happened this week has affected us deeply. What happened remains part of our present. But the films and stories being honoured tonight tell of courage, compassion and humanity – and remind us that these forces exist.” Out of respect for the dead, the after-show party was cancelled.

As for the winners, there were many films that went home with one award, while a “big two” clearly stood out. Mo Harawe’s The Village Next to Paradise [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
fiche film], which first premiered at Cannes in 2024, continued its winning streak in Austria, having already won big at the Viennale 2024 and the Diagonale this year. The film bagged five prizes: Best Camera for Mostafa El Kashef, Best Casting for Mohamed Mohamud Jama, Best Script for Mo Harawe, Best Director for Mo Harawe, and Best Film (collected by producers Sabine Moser and Oliver Neumann).

The other big winner was Anja Salomonowitz’s Maria Lassnig biopic-cum-essay film Sleeping with a Tiger [+lire aussi :
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interview : Anja Salomonowitz
fiche film], which first premiered at the Berlinale in 2024. It won the composite prize of Best Sound Editing, made up of Best Original Sound for Hjalti Bager-Jonathansson and Johannes Baumann, Best Sound Design for Veronika Hlawatsch, and Best Sound Mixing for Tobias Fleig. Furthermore, it won Best Score for Bernhard Fleischmann, Best Production Design for Martin Reiter and Andreas Ertl, Best Make-up for Sam Dopona and Verena Pellegrini, and Best Leading Actress for Birgit Minichmayr.

Other films and individuals that took home gongs were Favoriten [+lire aussi :
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interview : Ruth Beckermann
fiche film] by Ruth Beckermann as Best Documentary, Land der Berge by Olga Kosanović as Best Short Film, Albrecht Schuch as Best Leading Actor in Peacock [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
interview : Bernhard Wenger
fiche film], Gerti Drassl as Best Supporting Actress in Gina [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], Thomas Schubert as Best Supporting Actor in Andrea Gets a Divorce [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
fiche film], Andrea Wagner for Best Editing in Dear Beautiful Beloved [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], and Anaïs Horn and Marcus Karkhof for Best Costume Design in Veni Vidi Vici [+lire aussi :
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interview : Daniel Hoesl, Julia Niemann
fiche film]. The Viewer’s Choice accolade was awarded to the tragicomedy 80 Plus by directorial duo Sabine Hiebler and Gerhard Ertl, which drew 71,438 viewers into the cinemas.

The evening was hosted by Stefanie Reinsperger and Philipp Hansa, continuing the comedic presenter angle of the previous year. Reinsperger even did a humorous take on Helmut Qualtinger's most famous role, Herr Karl. As “Frau Karl”, she presented a satire on the dark side of the Austrian soul. Comedian Michael Ostrowski went the Oscars route and had himself digitally inserted into several of the evening’s nominated films.

Another highlight was a call from current and past members of the Academy's presidencies, Barbara Albert, Stefan Ruzowitzky, Verena Altenberger and Arash T Riahi, as well as chairwoman Mercedes Echerer, for the government to find a constructive solution given the current austerity measures afflicting the film sector. There was also an emotional moment as tribute was paid to 88-year-old actress Christine Ostermayer.

Academy managing director Katharina Albrecht said after the gala: “Both the nominees and the winners demonstrate the diversity and breadth of Austrian filmmaking. Austrian film is a global brand.”

Here is the complete list of award winners:

Best Feature Film
The Village Next to Paradise [+lire aussi :
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Best Documentary
Favoriten [+lire aussi :
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interview : Ruth Beckermann
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Best Short Film
Land der Berge – Olga Kosanović

Best Director
Mo Harawe – The Village Next to Paradise

Best Screenplay
Mo Harawe – The Village Next to Paradise

Best Leading Actress
Birgit Minichmay – Sleeping with a Tiger [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Anja Salomonowitz
fiche film]

Best Supporting Actress
Gerti Drassl – Gina [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film]

Best Male Leading Actor
Albrecht Schuch – Peacock [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
interview : Bernhard Wenger
fiche film] (Austria/Germany)

Best Supporting Actor
Thomas Schubert – Andrea Gets a Divorce [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film]

Best Cinematography
Mostafa El Kashef - The Village Next to Paradise

Best Film Editing
Andrea Wagner – Dear Beautiful Beloved [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film]

Best Casting
Mohamed Mohamud Jama – The Village Next to Paradise

Best Score
Bernhard Fleischmann – Sleeping with a Tiger

Best Sound Editing
Hjalti Bager-Jonathansson, Johannes Baumann, Veronika Hlawatsch, Tobias Fleig – Sleeping with a Tiger

Best Production Design
Martin Reiter, Andreas Ertl – Sleeping with a Tiger

Best Costume Design
Anaïs Horn, Marcus Karkhof – Veni Vidi Vici [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Daniel Hoesl, Julia Niemann
fiche film]

Best Make-up
Sam Dopona, Verene Pellegrini – Sleeping with a Tiger

Viewers’ Choice
80 Plus – Ulrich Gehmacher, Gerald Podgornig, Thomas Hroch, Sabine Hiebler, Gerhard Erlt, Michael Stejskal