The 23rd edition of the Crossing Europe Filmfestival Linz, which ran from 28 April to 3 May, concluded its awards ceremony on 2 May. Prizes totalling €27,000, along with the MIOB New Vision Award (set at €3,000), were presented in the presence of jury members, film guests, industry representatives and cultural policymakers.

This year, the jury split the top fiction feature prize between two Lithuanian films, Renovation by Gabrielė Urbonaitė and The Visitor by Vytautas Katkus. The jury praised what it described as “a New Wave unfolding before our eyes”. Contemporary stories were told with simple means, yet pulsed with cinematic vision, celebrating the vibrant Lithuanian film scene and its poetic portrayal of suburban housing blocks and multicultural communities. A Special Mention went to The Girl in the Snow by Louise Hémon. The Audience Award for Best Fiction Film was awarded to Caravan by Zuzana Kirchnerová, a Czech-Slovak-Italian co-production.

In the documentary competition, the Social Awareness Award went to the Czech-Slovak title If Pigeons Turned to Gold, the debut film by Pepa Lubojacki, which already won the Berlinale Documentary Award in February. The jury praised the first-time director’s fresh cinematic language for transforming a personal family story of alcohol addiction and mental illness into a deeply moving and destigmatising journey. A Special Mention was awarded to the French-Belgian title Imago by Déni Oumar Pitsaev.

The YAAAS! Competition, dedicated to the realities of young Europeans, gave its jury prize to Stereo Girls by France’s Caroline Deruas Peano. The youth jury described it as emotionally overwhelming, singling out its portrayal of friendship, visual execution and atmospheric music.

The Local Artist Competition once again awarded two winners: one receiving a cash prize and the other a non-cash prize. Gay By Nature by Isa Schieche and Helen Weber won the cash prize, with the jury describing it as anarchic, punk-infused and full of queer energy. The non-cash prize went to Days Yet Unknown by Jola Wieczorek, an emotional road movie about reconstructing a family biography in the face of her mother’s dementia. A Special Mention was given to Herzblutwiese Stadtwerkstatt by Claudia Dworschak and Tanja Brandmayr. The Innovation Award for Local Artists went to From Something to Nothing by Michael Heindl, who created a seven-minute audiovisual work built from over 3,000 individual images of tree bark.

Finally, the MIOB New Vision Award for a first or second feature (read news) went to Wind, Talk to Me by Stefan Djordjevic, a tender debut blending documentary and fiction, which premiered in last year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) Tiger Competition and later won the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Film at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

The awards:

Crossing Europe Competition - Fiction

Crossing Europe Award - Best Fiction Film
Renovation - Gabrielė Urbonaitė (Lithuania/Belgium/Latvia)
The Visitor - Vytautas Katkus (Lithuania/Norway/Sweden)

Special Mention
The Girl in the Snow - Louise Hémon (France)

Crossing Europe Audience Award - Best Fiction Film
Caravan - Zuzana Kirchnerová (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Italy)

Crossing Europe Competition - Documentary

Crossing Europe Social Awareness Award - Best Documentary
If Pigeons Turned to Gold - Pepa Lubojacki (Czech Republic/Slovakia)

Special Mention
Imago - Déni Oumar Pitsaev (France/Belgium)

YAAAS! Competition

Crossing Europe Award - YAAAS! Youth Jury
Stereo Girls - Caroline Deruas Peano (France/Canada)

Crossing Europe Local Artists

Cash prize
Gay By Nature - Isa Schieche, Helen Weber (Austria)

Special Mention
Herzblutwiese Stadtwerkstatt - Claudia Dworschak, Tanja Brandmayr (Austria)

Non-cash prize
Days Yet Unknown - Jola Wieczorek (Austria)

Innovation Award
From Something to Nothing - Michael Heindl (Austria)

Other awards

MIOB New Vision Award
Wind, Talk to Me - Stefan Djordjevic (Serbia/Slovenia/Croatia)