DOK.FEST 2004 - All Awards

DOK.FEST - all awards 1989 till today

Members of the International Jury 2004 were:

• David Fisher, Israel
• Renée Gaugnon, Portugal
• Walter Greifenstein, Germany
• Josy Meier, Switzerland
• Ray Privett, USA

The documentary film award from Bayerischer Rundfunk (10.000 EUR) goes to the film DIE SPIELWÜTIGEN - ADDICTED TO ACTING, directed by Andres Veiel of Germany.

The jury explains its decision as follows:

Produced over seven years, DIE SPIELWÜTIGEN - ADDICTED TO ACTING follows the development of four actors in Berlin's Ernst Busch Actors' School - the most famous acting school in Germany. Appropriately enough, the film has a classical dramatic structure - hope, followed by both success and failure, and then a climax interweaving the many lessons learned, as the actors head off into their future.

The film's characters and storytelling are so compelling and rich, that its two hours pass by effortlessly. As in a superbly made fiction film, the director generously reveals the movements, the timing, and the rhythms of the performers. Emotionally powerful and endlessly engaging, DIE SPIELWÜTIGEN - ADDICTED TO ACTING hopefully foreshadows some great things to come in German filmmaking and acting.

The festival award for the Special Documentary (2.500 EUR) goes to the film MAHSSOMIM - CHECKPOINT, directed by Yoav Shamir of Israel.

The jury explains its decision as follows:

MAHSSOMIM - CHECKPOINT wins the award for the director's persistence, turning himself into a silent witness - in all weather conditions - at checkpoints guarded by young Israeli soldiers and passed through by Palestinian civilians of every age. On all sides, people are stressed, unhappy, and forced into a position that they do not control.

Working on the frontlines, MAHSSOMIM - CHECKPOINT bravely confronts one of the most explosive geopolitical situations in all its absurdity and danger, offering all viewers a new perspective.

Special mentions go to:

HOLLANDS LICHT - DUTCH LIGHT, from Pieter-Rim de Kroon, The Netherlands

for its unique cinematic approach, and its new analysis of the very special quality of light in the Netherlands, particularly in Dutch painting.

FINAL SOLUTION from Rakesh Sharma, India

in appreciation of the filmmakers' harrowing attempt to depict the conflict between Hindus and Muslims in modern India.

The FilmFernsehFonds sponsorship prize 2004 goes to two films: Über Stock und Stein by Kai Schröter and Jens Utzt, and Am Arsch der Welt by Claus Strigel. The award is worth 5000 EURO and will be divided equally.

Über Stock und Stein is a film about a Bavarian stock car club, founded fifty years ago.

The filmmakers love their protagonists. The conduct highly emotional interviews. (...) They risk everything, emotionally as well as personally: This film could have ended as trash. Instead it became a cult movie. (From the jury's statement.)

Kai Schröter and Jens Utzt also receive the new AVID prize, a non-linear editing programme called AVID Express Pro.

Claus Strigel's Am Arsch der Welt receives the second FFF-sponsorship prize. His film is a study of Eastern German provincial life. When a group of Western Germans found a commune in a village in Vorpommern, resentment and bitterness ensue - a German "Eastern" scenario.

Am Arsch der Welt is (...) entertaining like a good feature film. The director pulls us into his story, sparing us unsatisfactory explanations. The audience lives and feels with the film. (From the jury's statement.)

The jury for this year's FFF award was made up by producer Nicole Leykauf, director Uli Kick and cameraman Gerardo Milzstein.