Since 2006, when it introduced the Best First Feature Award, the Berlinale has been even more committed to supporting the next generation of film makers. The award is endowed with 50,000 Euros, donated by the GWFF (Gesellschaft zur Wahrnehmung von Film- und Fernsehrecht), a society dedicated to safeguarding film and television rights. The prize money is to be split between the producer and the director of the winning film. Additionally, the director will be awarded with a high-quality viewfinder.
Festival Director Dieter Kosslick and the heads of the Competition, Panorama, Forum, Generation, and Perspektive Deutsches Kino sections have nominated a total of 18 directorial debuts. The winners will be announced at the official award ceremony in the Berlinale Palast on February 14.
A three-person jury will decide on the Best First Feature Award:
Fernando Eimbcke (Mexico)
Fernando Eimbcke studied at the UNAM Film Institute in Mexico. He was invited to the Berlinale Talent Campus in 2003 and celebrated his feature film debut with Temporada de Patos in 2004. Following its world premiere at the festival in Guadalajara, he was invited to "Semaine de la critique" in Cannes as well as numerous other international festivals. He took part in Competition of the Berlinale in 2008 with Lake Tahoe, winning the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize and the FIPRESCI Award. He contributed to the episode film Revolucion, which screened in Berlinale Special in 2010. In 2013, he received awards in San Sebastián and Turin for Club Sandwich.
Joshua Oppenheimer (USA)
American documentary director Joshua Oppenheimer has been making militias, death squads and their victims the focus of his work. His harrowing debut feature-length film The Act of Killing won several international awards all over the world including the Panorama Audience Award, the BAFTA award and a European Film Award. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary and has been released in more than 31 countries. The Look of Silence celebrated its premiere at the 2014 Venice Film Festival, receiving the Grand Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Award, followed by the prestigious Danish Arts Council Award.
Olga Kurylenko (Ukraine)
International actress Olga Kurylenko had her breakthrough alongside Daniel Craig's James Bond in A Quantum of Solace. Appearances in films by directors such as multi award-winning Terrence Malick (To the Wonder), Martin McDonagh (Seven Psychopaths) and the hit American series Magic City followed, as well as a lead role alongside Tom Cruise in Oblivion. Most recently she worked with Academy Award winner Russell Crowe in his directorial debut The Water Diviner, and completed filming for the drama A Perfect Day with Benicio Del Toro and Tim Robbins.
The following 18 films are nominated for the Best First Feature Award:
Competition (2)
Ixcanul (Ixcanul Volcano) – Guatemala / France
By Jayro Bustamante
With María Mercedes Coroy, María Telón, Manuel Antún, Justo Lorenzo, Marvin Coroy
Vergine giurata (Sworn Virgin) – Italy / Swiss / Germany
By Laura Bispuri
With Alba Rohrwacher, Lars Eidinger, Flonja Kodheli, Luan Jaha, Emily Ferratello
Panorama (5)
Al-Hob wa Al-Sariqa wa Mashakel Ukhra (Love, Theft and Other Entanglements) – Palestinian Territories
By Muayad Alayan
With Sami Metwasi, Maya Abu Alhayyat, Riyad Sliman, Ramzi Maqdisi, Kamel Elbasha
600 Millas (600 Miles) – Mexico
By Gabriel Ripstein
With Tim Roth, Kristyan Ferrer, Harrison Thomas, Noé Hernández, Armando Hernández
Paridan az Ertefa Kam (A Minor Leap Down) – Iran / France
By Hamed Rajabi
With Negar Javaherian, Rambod Javan
Pionery-geroi (Pioneer Heroes) – Russian Federation
By Natalia Kudryashova
With Natalia Kudryashova, Daria Moroz, Aleksei Mitin, Aleksandr Userdin
Petting Zoo – Germany / Greece / USA
By Micah Magee
With Devon Keller, Austin Reed, Deztiny Gonzales, Kiowa Tucker
Forum (5)
Der Geldkomplex (The Money Complex) – Spain
By Juan Rodrigáñez
With Lola Rubio, Gianfranco Poddighe, Rafael Lamata, Jorge Dutor, Katrin Memmer
Nefesim kesilene kadar (Until I Lose My Breath) – Turkey / Germany
By Emine Emel Balcı
With Esme Madra, Rıza Akın, Gizem Denizci, Uğur Uzunel, Sema Keçik
Koza – Slovakia / Czech Republic
By Ivan Ostrochovský
With Peter Baláž, Zvonko Lakčevič, Ján Franek, Stanislava Bongilajová, Nikola Bongilajová
Beira-Mar (Seashore) – Brazil
By Filipe Matzembacher und Marcio Reolon
With Mateus Almada, Maurício José Barcellos, Elisa Brites, Francisco Gick, Irene Brietzke
Chaiki (The Gulls) – Russian Federation
By Ella Manzheeva
With Evgenia Manzhieva, Sergey Adianov, Evgeniy Sangadzhiev, Lyubov Ubushieva
Generation (4)
Mina Walking – Canada / Afghanistan
By Yosef Baraki
With Farzana Nawabi, Hashmatullah Fanaie, Qadir Aryaie
Prins (Prince) – Netherlands
By Sam de Jong
With Ayoub Elasri, Jorik Scholten, Achraf Meziani, Sigrid Ten Napel
Golden Kingdom – USA
By Brian Perkins
With Shine Htet Zaw, Ko Yin Saw Ri, Ko Yin Than Maung, Ko Yin Maung Sein
You're Ugly, Too – Ireland
By Mark Noonan
With Aidan Gillen, Lauren Kinsella, Erika Sainte
Perspektive Deutsches Kino (2)
Im Sommer wohnt er unten (Summers Downstairs) - Germany / France
By Tom Sommerlatte
With Sebastian Fräsdorf, Alice Pehlivanyan, Karin Hanczewski, Godehard Giese, William Peiro
Wanja – Germany
By Carolina Hellsgård
With Anne Ratte-Polle, Nele Trebs, Robert Viktor Minich
Chatelin Bruno 
