We are very pleased to announce the winners of the 38th Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg!

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Jury: Edwin, Florian Fischer, Andrea Lissoni, Jyoti Mistry, Caroline Monnet

HAMBURG SHORT FILM AWARD (3.000€):
Pavel Mozhar - Handbook
Jury Statement: "Political and social violence continues to dominant our lives and screens. The challenge is how to create representations of human atrocities without reproducing the spectacle of violence. Set in a sterile environment of a small room, that replicates the size of a holding cell, the testimony and experiences of incarcerated activists is recounted through a set of sobering instructions of staged physical brutality. This documentary of reenactments pushes the boundaries of the genre by employing a clinical eye on violence. The gaps demand that an audience complete the visual representation in their own imagination and this leaves one with a haunting and chilling feeling that endures long after the film is over. For cinematic excellence and a film that creates a signature language to expose contemporary political and civil violence in society through a manual of instructions for state practice as violence, the winner is: Handbuch by Pavel Mozhar."

DEFRAMED AWARD (2.000€):
Maria Estela Paiso - Ampangabagat Nin Talakba Ha Likol (It's Raining Frogs Outside)
Jury statement: "A contemporary generation is dealing with increased mental health concerns, emotions of entrapment and isolation where socio-political concerns are replaced by identity politics. Using a memorable breath of haptic and tactile images and innovative animation techniques this film is a deeply emotive exploration of feeling trapped by the inner demons of social expectations and one’s own desires. Even though the film offers a dark exploration of isolation, its balance of playful counterpoints is a poetic expression of the vulnerabilities of a young generation. The Deframed Award for an artistic film goes to: Maria Estela Paiso for Ampangabagat Nin Talakba Ha Likol – It’s raining frogs outside."

HAMBURG SHORT FILM CANDIDATE FOR THE EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS:
Leonor Noivo - Madrugada (Dawn)
Jury Statement: "Cycles of labour: invisible labour of women’s work, the cleaning of homes and the endless routines of daily life which are often the unseen, and the unspoken parts of women’s lives that are passed on in generations. How do daughters make peace with their mother’s lives in which they have watched and witnessed the sacrifices mothers make in the name of love and protection? In an exceptionally raw and daring film that combines several genres, this docu-fiction is an exploration of the connections between women, labour, and desires. This intimate portrait of a generation of women unfolds the corrupted transmission of communication of unresolved feelings of loss. The jury selection for the EU award is: Leonor Noivo’s Madrugada - Dawn."

SPECIAL MENTION:
Evgenia Arbugaeva, Maxim Arbugaev - Haulout)
Jury statement: "A radical act of commitment and stunning photography brings us to one of the most urgent socio-political circumstances of our times. The Anthropocene remains the crisis of our epoch but this film neither succumbs to hysteria nor to the commercial manipulation of information of climate change. Instead in an exceptional and deeply affecting observation we are shown directly the vulnerability of nature at the hands of humans. At once lyrical, but profoundly disciplined – this film captures kinship by creating an intense interspecies dialogue that carefully balances the contradiction of being enclosed in a small, confined space with the vastness of nature. In a patient and committed process this film is a testament to cinema’s capacity to take us to far flung places on the globe but which demands our urgent attention because it effects the immediacy of our lives and futures. For a poignant posthumanist film we give special mention to: Haulout by Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev."

GERMAN COMPETITION

Jury: Andreas Fock, Matt Lloyd, Genne Spears

JURY AWARD (2.000 €):
Sylvia Schedelbauer - Oh, Butterfly!
Jury statement: "Waves roll under an echoing lament for a lover across the ocean. The jury awards a multi-layered work of exhaustive research that places family history in dialogue with one of the most frequently reproduced works of twentieth century opera. The filmmaker uses archive footage organically to create a vivid and ornate palimpsest, touching on themes of race, Empire, migration and performance. This is a work of both rigour and excess; we applaud the filmmaker’s ambition, sensitivity and mastery of her material. The German Short Film Award goes to Oh, Butterfly! by Sylvia Schedelbauer."

SPECIAL MENTION
Mona Keil - Saft
Jury Statement: “To a film that efficiently summarizes a pandemic experience through a haunting, spellbinding and animated internal world. The special mention goes to an intense and well-crafted piece of unforgettable images: Saft by Mona Keil.”

TRIPLE AXEL COMPETITION (1.000€):

Kumaran Herold - Shining
Der Publikumspreis wird von der Hamburgischen Kulturstiftung unterstützt.

ARTE AWARD:

Morgan Quaintance - A Human Certainty
The competition spanning ARTE Short Film Award consists of the purchase of one film (up to 6,000 euros) and its subsequent screening in the »Kurzschluss« programme by ARTE, the Franco-German cultural TV channel.

AUDIENCE AWARD (1500€):

Daniel Aguirre - Pink Rider
The Audience Award is presented with kind support of Play Studios. It is awarded to a film from the International or the German Competition.

MO&FRIESE AWARDS:

Friese Award: Ursula Ulmi – IDODO, special mention: John Croezen – Fantastischer Flugwettkampf
Mo Award: Marcel Barelli – In der Natur, special mention: Wassili Franko & Paul Spengemann – Pocket Call
Neon Award: Laura Wadha – Born in Damaskus, special mention: Mark Albiston – Datsun
Nomination ECFA Short Film Award: Britt Raesh, Luce und der Stein
GIB MIR 5! Competition: Frieda Durago – Sei keine Flasche, Filmkids.ch – Le Train, Jessica, Leenay & Fatma – Können Katzen fliegen