The 42nd Munich International Film Festival wrapped with a closing ceremony on 5 July, revealing its winners. From 27 June-6 July, the festival hosted around 91,000 attendees across roughly 600 film screenings and local events. For the first time, these figures now include the various networking events, with at least 16,000 visitors hosted by the industry sections, which are also key to the festival.

The €100,000 CineCoPro Award, the most lucrative prize for German co-producers, financed by FFF Bayern, was presented to A Poet [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Simón Mesa Soto
scheda film] by Simón Mesa Soto. The film’s German co-producers, Katharina Bergfeld and Heino Deckert, from ma.ja.de, were honoured. The decision was made by a three-member jury composed of Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and director of the European Film Academy; Jochen Laube, producer at Sommerhaus Filmproduktion; and Anne Carey, head of the Film and Television Department at Purple Pebble Pictures. The jury praised the film for exploring how one navigates the struggle of becoming an artist “in a world that does not make it easy for people to choose this path”, highlighting its empathy, excellent directing and sense of humour when addressing grand ideas, while also “gently exposing European views and expectations”.

Kika [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alexe Poukine
scheda film] by Alexe Poukine won the €15,000 CineMasters Award for Best International Film, as decided by a jury comprising actress and director Emma Bading, director Eva Trobisch, and director, actress and screenwriter Maria Schrader. The jury described it as a film that “deals with nothing less than the big issues of life: love and grief, desire and shame, loneliness and hardship”, and commended how it “effortlessly succeeds in connecting contradictions”, calling it “as intimate as it is political, as tender as it is brutal, and as laconic as it is heartbreakingly sad”.

The CineVision Award for Best International Debut Film went to To the West, in Zapata by David Bim. The jury – producer Viola Fügen, screenwriter Moritz Binder and writer-director Leo Leigh – selected the winner from among 14 titles, noting how the film “took us deep into the rainforest and swamps of Cuba, into the deserted wilderness, just to remind us of the importance of being human”. They emphasised that the film is “not just about life; it’s much more about survival and the great grandeur, humour, love and strength that can lie dormant within us”. The CineRebels Award, presented for the fourth time and worth €15,000 (sponsored by Audi), was given to Okamoto by Soujiro Sanada.

As for the German Cinema New Talent Award, Christina Tournatzés was honoured as Best Director for Karla [+leggi anche:
intervista: Christina Tournatzés
scheda film], a prize that comes with €30,000. The jury, director Jan-Ole Gerster, actress Liliane Amuat and actor-director Erol Afşin, praised how the film “ventures straight into what cannot be spoken about or shown” and acknowledged that Tournatzés “succeeds in finding words and images – and in contrasting the darkest corners of the soul with courage and humanity”. Karla also received the Best Screenplay Award for Yvonne Görlach, along with the FIPRESCI Prize.

Jacqueline Jansen won Best Production for the drama Sechswochenamt, which she also directed. The jury highlighted the challenges of independent filmmaking, noting, “It’s hard to make a film – and even harder to start making one on your own: without money, without support, with just your own conviction.” They also underlined the importance of collaboration, especially “under tight deadlines, under uncertain conditions, but with dignity”. The film also received the Best Acting Performance Award, which went to Magdalena Laubisch.

Here is a list of all of the winners at the 42nd Munich International Film Festival:

CineCoPro Award
A Poet [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Simón Mesa Soto
scheda film] - Simón Mesa Soto (Colombia/Germany/Sweden)

CineMasters Award
Kika [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alexe Poukine
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CineVision Award
To the West, in Zapata - David Bim (Cuba/Spain)

CineRebels Award
Okamoto - Soujiro Sanada (Japan)

CineKindl Award
Omaha - Cole Webley (USA)
Honourable Mention
Hola Frida! - André Kadi, Karine Vézina (Canada/France)

FIPRESCI Prize
Sechswochenamt - Jacqueline Jansen (Germany)

German Cinema New Talent Award

Best Director
Christina Tournatzés - Karla [+leggi anche:
intervista: Christina Tournatzés
scheda film] (Germany)

Best Production
Jacqueline Jansen - Sechswochenamt

Best Screenplay
Yvonne Görlach - Karla

Best Acting Performance
Magdalena Laubisch - Sechswochenamt

Young Jury Award
The Botanist - Jing Yi (China)

Audience Award – National Category
Zweigstelle - Julius Grimm (Germany)

Audience Award – International Category
Sentimental Value [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Joachim Trier
scheda film] – Joachim Trier (Norway/France/Denmark/Germany)

CineKindl Audience Award
Tafiti – Across the Desert - Nina Wels (Germany)