This year's edition of the Max Ophüls Prize took place from 20-26 January in Saarbrücken. Once again, the goal for the 46th edition of the festival was to offer a platform to the most promising talents from a new generation of filmmakers from the German-speaking countries. “We were delighted to see how the filmmakers brought the festival to life with their works, talks and discussions, and inspired the audience,” says programme director Theresa Winkler. “Together, we were able to discover and celebrate the impressive film worlds of these talents.”

The festival came to an end after a slew of 19 prizes, worth a total of €128,500, were handed out. A new prize was added this year – namely, the Treatment Development – ZDF/Das kleine Fernsehspiel Award.

The films were competing in several sections, some of which were organised by genre. Thus, there was a competition for feature films that included 13 titles from Austria, Germany and Switzerland. It was a feature from Germany that won three of the most important prizes. Lauro Cress presented his first feature, Impatience of the Heart [+leggi anche:
intervista: Lauro Cress
scheda film], and a jury of five people, composed of director Max Gleschinski, actress Sibel Kekilli, editor Ana de Mier y Ortuño, director Burhan Qurbani and producer Nurhan Șekerci-Porst, decided to give him the Award for Best Feature, to the tune of €36,000. The jury remarked: “With a class-conscious view, great sensitivity and an electrifying acting ensemble, this film tells of a state of restless longing, the loss of one's own identity and the fear of never really having had one. At the same time, it unfolds a quiet hope that releases strength – also in us. The film is as rough and edgy as its protagonist, an unpolished diamond, full of fragile and painful beauty.”

Another jury of three, composed of actor Bradley Iyamu, casting director Susanne Ritter and producer Kirstin Wille, praised the performances of both leads in Impatience of the Heart, Giulio Brizzi and Ladina von Frisching, by giving them both Awards for Best Up-and-coming Acting Talent. Both prizes are endowed with €3,000 each.

The Award for Best Directing went to Swiss filmmaker Piet Baumgartner (The Driven Ones [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film]) for his fictional family drama about grief and heritage, Bagger Drama [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Piet Baumgartner
scheda film]. The accolade is endowed with a total of €11,000, while half of that sum goes to the director and the other half takes the form of distribution support. The jury said: “The director skilfully unfolds the triad of son, father and mother in surprising shots and through precise acting. […] He asks his characters to perform a ballet – a tactful choreography. The director calmly tells of hurtful secrets and finds great poetry even in the ordinariness of a medium-sized company.” Bagger Drama also won a second prize – the Award for Best Script, which comes with €13,000 and was decided upon by a separate jury of three: actor Daniel Blum, journalist Oliver Hottong and director Süheyla Schwenk.

Among the other prizes given out during the festival was the Critics' Award for Best Feature and the Critics’ Award for Best Documentary. The former went to Red Stars Upon the Field by Laura Laabs and the second to To Close Your Eyes and See Fire [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] by Nicola von Leffern and Jakob Carl Sauer. The three journalists on the jury, Katrin Doerksen, Beat Glur and Susanne Gottlieb, said of Red Stars Upon the Field: “It’s a film within a film that pulls out all the technical stops […]. An enormously rich and colourful kaleidoscope of contemporary German history exemplified in the microcosm of a small spa village in the East German provinces.” On the other hand, they had this to say about To Close Your Eyes and See Fire: “It stands out from the competition through its sober realism, its poetic narrative style and its inspiring belief in survival in times of crisis.”

As for the Best Documentary Award, the €7,500 prize went to The Life of Sean Delear by Markus Zizenbacher. The jury, made up of musician Claudio Donzelli, director Mala Reinhardt and producer Ümit Uludağ, said: “The director succeeds in creating a film that is both an homage and a multi-layered reflection on our coexistence – a work full of courage, depth and creative vision.”

Here is the full list of award winners:

Best Feature Film
Impatience of the Heart [+leggi anche:
intervista: Lauro Cress
scheda film] – Lauro Cress (Germany)

Best Social Interest Film
Ich sterbe. Kommst du? – Benjamin Kramme (Germany)

Fritz-Raff Award for Best Screenplay
Bagger Drama [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Piet Baumgartner
scheda film] – Piet Baumgartner (Switzerland)

The Saarland Minister-President's Award for Best Director
Piet Baumgartner - Bagger Drama

Best Documentary
The Life of Sean Delear – Markus Zizenbacher (Austria)

Best Up-and-coming Actor
Giulio Brizzi – Impatience of the Heart

Best Up-and-coming Actress
Ladina von Frisching - Impatience of the Heart

Audience Award for Best Fiction Feature Film
Ich sterbe. Kommst du? – Benjamin Kramme

Audience Award for Best Documentary
Yumi – The Whole World – Felix Golenko (Germany/Netherlands/UK/Egypt/Fiji/Vanuatu/USA)

Audience Award for Best Short Film
Night of Passage – Reza Rasouli (Austria)

Audience Award for Best Medium-length Film
Skin on Skin – Simon Schneckenburger (Germany)

Best Medium-length Film
Garnelius – Julia Ketelhut (Germany)

Best Short Film
God Is Grey – Jennifer Drake (Germany)

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
Scham – Lukas Röder (Germany)

Young Jury Award
Sew Torn [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] – Freddy Macdonald (Switzerland/USA)

Best Music in a Documentary
Hvob, Nicola von Leffern, Jakob Carl Sauer – To Close Your Eyes and See Fire [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] (Austria)

Critics' Award for Best Feature
Red Stars Upon the Field – Laura Laabs (Germany)

Critics' Award for Best Documentary
To Close Your Eyes and See Fire - Nicola von Leffern, Jakob Carl Sauer

Treatment Development – ZDF/Das kleine Fernsehspiel
Superorganismus – Raoul Bruck, Lorenz Uhl