After five festival days and nights at Cineplex Münster, more than one hundred films, numerous premiers in thedifferent sections, as well as exciting conversations and encounters, the award winners of the 16th Filmfestival Münster are finally certain.
The award for Best Directing in the European Feature Film Competition (endowed with €5,000) is granted to the filmmaker Micah Magee for her feature film debut „Petting Zoo“. The portrait of a young woman who is stuck between self determination and a bigoted home, is influenced by the director’s autobiography and is told sensitively. It convinced by its coherent cinematic concept that reveals an exceptional directing talent, as the jury, consisting of Christine Haupt, Florian Gottschick, Luna Zimic Mijovic and Thure Lindhardt, explained. The graduate of the German Film and Television Academy Berlin was already featured at Filmfestival Münster. In 2013, her short film „Heimkommen“ was screened there. „Petting Zoo“, a German, Greek and US American coproduction, is Micah Magee’s first feature film.
In the Short Film Competition with German, Austrian and Swiss submissions, the award winners received prizes that are worth €7,000. The Grand Prix of the Filmwerkstatt (endowed with €3,000) goes in equal parts to the 30-minute documentary „Vorwärtsgang“ by Daniel Abma and the short feature film „Abseits der Autobahn“ by the Swiss filmmaker Rhona Mühlebach in equal shares.
The jury members Oona von Maydell, Maximilian Scheidt and Hella Wenders awarded„Vorwärtsgang“ the prize since the graduate of Film UniversityPotsdam-Babelsberg shows a sensitive long-term observation of a social rehabilitation – a well-made portrait of a person forgotten by society.
The short feature film „Abseits der Autobahn“ by the 25-year-old director Rhona Mühlebach shows control mania, lapse, the wish for change and stagnation of the two lovingly created protagonists. This is conveyed by atmospheric images and lots of humour.
Furthermore, the bizarre comedy „Die Ballade von Ella Plummhoff“ by KHM student Barbara Kronenberg received a special mention.
„Alles wird gut“ by Patrick Vollrath was awarded with the award for up-and-coming filmmakers (endowed with €3,000) by WDR Studio Münster. The film by graduates of the Viennese Film Academy was premiered in the short film competition of the „Semaine de la Critique“ in Cannes and was recently honored with the Student Academy Award.
The Audience Award (endowed with €1,000) of the Short Film Competition, sponsored by the Münstersche Filmtheater-Betriebe, goes to the bittersweet, pleasure-loving and sparking tragicomedy „Forever Over“ by Erik Schmitt. The filmmaker was born in 1980 and has already participated in the Short Film Competition of Filmfestival Münster in 2011(„Nun sehen Sie Folgendes“) and in 2013 („Nashorn im Galopp“).
In the section „Westphalia Connection“, the Audience Award winner originally comes from Hamm: Nina Mielitz and her film „Was wisst ihr denn eigentlich schon davon?“ impressed the audience the most. Nina Mielitz has won a flight for two persons within Europe, sponsored by Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
Background
The Filmfestival Münster 2015 is hosted by Filmwerkstatt Münster. It is promoted by the City of Münster, the Ministry for Families, Children, Youth, Culture and Sports of the State of Northrhine-Westphalia, the Film and Media FoundationNorthrhine-Westphalia, the Cultural Foundation of Sparkasse Münster and the Embassy of the Dutch Kingdom. WDR Studio Münster and Münstersche Zeitung are media partners of the festival. Kulturrucksack NRW, the Cultural Office of the City of Münster, Münstersche Filmtheater-Betriebe, Kunsthalle Münster, Filmservice Münster.Land, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Kaiserhof Münster, Audi Zentrum Münster – Auto Krause and GUCC grafik & film are cooperation partners.
More information: www.filmfestival-muenster.de