Viennale 2017 Prize Winners

 V’17: OCTOBER 19 – NOVEMBER 2, 2017

VIENNA FILM PRIZE

Jury: Gregor Eichinger, Till Fellner, Olga Flor, Bettina Hering, Voodoo Jürgens

For the ninth time, this year the Vienna Film Prize was awarded separately in both the “Feature Film” and “Documentary” categories. There are two equal prizes, each of which consists of monetary and material awards worth about € 11,000. The Viennale would like to take this opportunity to thank BLAUTÖNE and viennaFX, and the Culture Department of the City of Vienna. Owing to the generosity and commitment of all involved, the Vienna Film Prize continues to represent encouragement and recognition of the work of Austrian filmmakers.

Feature Film

DIE LIEBHABERIN, Lukas Valenta Rinner, Austria/South Korea/Argentina 2016 Excerpt from the jury’s decision: In his feature film DIE LIEBHABERIN, Lukas Valenta Rinner conveys to us two contrary models of society in visually impressive, almost surreal camera takes. The wealthy and gated community on the outskirts of Buenos Aires lives in immediate and irreconcilable proximity to a community that has devoted itself to free love and nudism. For the housemaid Belén the transition into this seemingly boundless society becomes a fictional inner liberation, depicted in a subtle manner. Laconically and with drastic cinematic means, Lukas Valenta Rinner tells us about the impossibility of overcoming these different ideologies, let alone reconciling them. DIE LIEBHABERIN is an impressive parable of our fundamental cultural differences today, and at the same time a bold cinematic step.

 Documentary

UNTITLED, Michael Glawogger, Monika Willi, Austria/Germany 2017 Excerpt from the jury’s decision: Three years ago, the Austrian filmmaker Michael Glawogger embarked on a journey from which he did not return. He wanted to make “a film without a name” – it was his life project, a long-cherished dream. Thanks to Mona Willi, the footage he shot up until his death in Liberia has been assembled in his spirit and takes us on an emphatic cinematic journey. It is a journey hardly any one of us would actually undertake, and yet it is gripping and takes us along – from the Balkans and Italy to Africa. Explicitly without a destination and without a plan, committed only to chance. The result is a shimmering, visually powerful portrait of the world with all its human abysses and beauties – without narrative, without evaluation, but always in motion. Michael Glawogger’s credo was: “Don’t wait, keep going.” In UNTITLED, Mona Willi continues that journey – without him and yet with him, while the end remains open.

VIENNALE STANDARD READERS’ JURY PRIZE

 Jury: Robert Jolly, Gabriele Keller, Michael Schober, Selina Ströbele, Julia Tanzer The Standard Readers’ Jury Prize goes to a film that does not yet have an Austrian distributor and is especially recommended for screening in Austrian cinemas. Should the award-winning film find a distributor, Der Standard supports its film run with free advertising space in its newspaper.

The STANDARD READERS’ JURY PRIZE goes to:

L’INSULTE, Ziad Doueiri, France/Lebanon 2017 Excerpt from the jury’s decision: This year’s Standard Readers’ Jury Prize goes to a multifaceted film that succeeds in merging the genres of comedy, period drama and political thriller in a unique way, without losing the connection to an emotionally charged global present. While the fronts increasingly harden, emotions are exploited and collective traumas that were never processed break out again; the two protagonists gradually learn that there are no simple answers and that they have to confront their own past in order to regain their humanity, which allows them to deal with the other’s point of view. In a time when political conflicts seem to be escalating all over the world, this film becomes a plea for more togetherness, empathy and understanding, and against the stubborn insistence on ideological positions.

4 FIPRESCI PRIZE (PRIZE OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FILM CRITICS)

Jury: Robenson Eksiel (Flix.gr), Iryna Marholina (Seance.ru), Michael Omasta (FALTER) The FIPRESCI PRIZE is awarded to the first or second film of a young director.

The FIPRESCI-PRIZE goes to:

DISTANT CONSTELLATION, Shevaun Mizrahi, USA/Turkey 2017 Excerpt from the jury’s decision: For the way it explores the notion of time both literally and metaphorically, and makes use of a retirement home in Istanbul as a microcosm of the 20th century, the International Critics Prize goes to the documentary DISTANT CONSTELLATION by Shevaun Mizrahi.

ERSTE BANK’S ExtraVALUE FILM AWARD

Jury: Silvia Bohrn, Nicolas Mahler, Boris Manner

Erste Bank’s ExtraVALUE Film Award was awarded for the seventh time at the Viennale 2017. An independent jury selected an award winner from films by Austrian directors shown at the festival. The prize includes a residency in New York, travelling costs and a financial allowance.

Erste Bank’s ExtraVALUE Film Award is realized in collaboration with the Viennale, the Deutsches Haus at NYU, the Austrian Cultural Forum New York and Anthology Film Archives.

ERSTE BANK’s ExtraVALUE FILM AWARD goes to:

GWENDOLYN, Ruth Kaaserer, Austria 2017 Excerpt from the jury’s decision: A wonderful, attentive film that captures the imagination from the very beginning. In a seemingly random manner, it unfolds a multilayered panorama of human relationships in different living environments. In a captivatingly clear dramatic structure, it tells the story of an outstanding, strong woman, whom we get to know step by step. The director succeeds in blurring the boundaries between documentary and feature film. A sensitive piece of work that beguiles us into enjoying life