After five days of celebrating Austrian film, the Diagonale handed out its myriad awards on 23 March at the Annenhof cinema. Eighty-two movies were shown in competition, 70 of which had their Austrian or world premieres. The various additional accolades handed out over the course of the Diagonale, such as the Franz Grabner Award, the Carl Mayer Script Award, the Thomas Pluch Script Award and the Kodak Analogue Film Award, were joined by a new category this year – the Mabacher Award, which rewards the best inclusive film in terms of its story and the involvement of disabled crew members.

This year’s top prize in the fiction-feature competition went to Angela Summereder’s B wie Bartleby. The jury credited the film with blending “the personal with the collective” and creating “a spacious cinematic world” with remarkable ease. On the documentary side, another feature debut triumphed: Tolga Karaaslan’s Baba, What’s Your Plan?, a doc about his immigrant father and his chronic illness, not only scooped the Best Documentary Award, but was also granted the Mabacher Award earlier on during the festival. The jury applauded the “fine sense of rhythm and the trust placed in a narrative told matter-of-factly and without bitterness”. It was deemed “both a tribute and a declaration of love”. The Mabacher jury also added that the movie abstains from “any sort of voyeurism” while navigating the topic.

Georg Petermichl won the Diagonale Prize for Innovative Cinema by the City of Graz with his film Amature Enlightenment. The jury lauded the relationship between Petermichl and his parents, which we see unfolding on screen. In their view, the film “oscillates between extreme self-effacement and, back in the family home, a Thomas Bernhard-esque abyss”. The Diagonale Prize for Best Short Fiction Film and Best Short Documentary went to Franz Quitt’s Closed for the Virus Break and Sophie Bösker’s Motherigine, respectively. The Diagonale Prize from the Youth Jury for Best Young Talent Film was handed to Sebastian Kubleka’s 64 km von daheim.

The editing gongs went to Anna Garnacarczyk for Teresa’s Body (in the Best Artistic Editing in a Fiction Feature strand) and to Bettina Blickwede for Mit Ästen bis zum Himmel (for the documentary equivalent). Best Cinematography in a Fiction Feature went to Johannes Hoss for Licht, kein Licht, while the corresponding documentary trophy went to Stefan Neuberger for Mit Ästen bis zum Himmel. Best Sound Design for a Fiction Feature went to Daniel Strube for Licht, kein Licht, while in the documentary category, it was Peter Kutin who won out for Mit Ästen bis zum Himmel. The Best Film Music Awards went to Tara Nome Doyle for Rose (for a fiction feature) and to Yuri Nosenko for A Russian Winter (for a documentary). Best Production Design went to Kristine Vitola and Best Costume Design to Lena Oger, both for White Snail.

In the acting department, two women triumphed. Valerie Pachner won for Adrian Goiginger’s Four Minus Three, while Julia Franz Richter was rewarded for two of her performances: in Welcome Home Baby and Mother’s Baby. The VAM Prize for Outstanding Production Services went to Gebhardt Productions GmbH, and producers Florian Gebhardt and Dani Purer, for the Christmas comedy Aufputzt is’, as well as to April April Filme GmbH and producer Deniz Raunig for Noch lange keine Lippizaner. The Audience Award ended up going to Abu Bakr Shawky’s The Stories.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Grand Diagonale Prize of the Province of Styria - Best Fiction Feature
B wie Bartleby – Angela Summereder (Austria)

Grand Diagonale Prize of the Province of Styria - Best Documentary Film
Baba, What’s Your Plan? – Tolga Karaaslan (Austria/Turkey)

Diagonale Prize for Innovative Cinema by the City of Graz – Best Innovative, Experimental or Animation Film
Amature Enlightenment – Georg Petermichl (Austria)

Diagonale Prize for Best Short Fiction Film
Closed for the Virus Break – Franz Quitt (Austria)

Diagonale Prize for Best Short Documentary
Motherigine – Sophie Bösker (Austria)

Diagonale Prize from the Youth Jury of the Province of Styria - Best Young Talent Film
64 km von daheim – Sebastian Kubelka (Austria)

Diagonale Prizes for Editing from the Verband Filmschnitt

Best Artistic Editing in a Fiction Feature
Anna Garnacarczyk – Teresa’s Body (Austria)

Best Artistic Editing in a Documentary Film
Bettina Blickwede – Mit Ästen bis zum Himmel (Austria)

Diagonale Cinematography Prizes from the Verband Österreichischer Kameraleute AAC

Best Cinematography in a Fiction Feature
Johannes Hoss – Licht, kein Licht (Austria)

Best Cinematography in a Documentary Film
Stefan Neuberger – Mit Ästen bis zum Himmel

Diagonale Prizes for Sound Design from the Berufsvereinigung der Filmtonschaffenden Österreichs – Filmton Austria

Best Sound Design in a Fiction Feature
Daniel Strube – Licht, kein Licht

Best Sound Design in a Documentary Film
Peter Kutin – Mit Äste bis zum Himmel

Diagonale Award for Film Composition of the Austrian Composers Association

Best Original Score in a Fiction Feature
Tara Nome Doyle – Rose (Austria/Germany)

Best Original Score in a Documentary Film
Yuri Nosenko – A Russian Winter (France)

Diagonale Prizes for Production Design and Costume Design from the Verband Österreichischer Filmausstatter*innen VÖF

Best Production Design
Kristine Vitola – White Snail (Austria/Germany)

Best Costume Design
Lena Oger – White Snail

Diagonale Acting Prizes in cooperation with the VdFS – Verwertungsgesellschaft der Filmschaffenden
Valerie Pachner – Four Minus Three (Austria/Germany)
Julia Franz Richter – Welcome Home Baby (Austria/Germany), Mother’s Baby (Austria/Germany/Switzerland)

VAM Prize for Outstanding Production Services (ex aequo)
Gebhardt Productions GmbH – Aufputzt is’ (producers Florian Gebhardt, Dani Purer)
April April Filme GmbH – Noch lange keine Lippizaner (producer Deniz Raunig)

Audience Award
The Stories - Abu Bakr Shawky (Austria/France/Belgium/Egypt/Sweden)