– Other victors at the Bavarian gathering included Visar Morina’s Shame and Money, Jing Zou’s A Girl Unknown, and Ella Cieslinski and Nina Wesemann’s Dear Future Self
l-r: Artistic director Christoph Gröner, FFF Bayern managing director Dorothee Erpenstein, producer Sophie Ahrens and artistic director Julia Weigl with their CineCoPro Award for Strange River, at the award ceremony (© Kurt Krieger/Filmfest München)
The 43rd Munich International Film Festival wrapped with a closing ceremony on 4 July, revealing its winners. The festival welcomed more than 95,000 attendees at 385 film screenings and 140 events. Among these figures are 18,000 industry professionals who attended various industry events held during these ten days.
The €100,000 CineCoPro Award, the most lucrative prize for German co-producers, financed by FFF Bayern, was presented to Strange River by Jaume Claret Muxart. The film’s German co-producers, Sophie Ahrens, Fabian Altenried and Kristof Gerega, of Schuldenberg Films, were honoured. The decision was made by a three-member jury comprising producer and screenwriter Kate Solomon, producer Fred Burle of One Two Films, and producer Tobias Walker of Walker + Worm Film.
Shame and Money by Visar Morina won the €10,000 CineMasters Award for Best International Film. The jury, composed of actress Ella Rumpf, director Michael Kofler and filmmaker Pete Ohs, selected the film from among 12 titles competing in the section. The CineVision Award for Best International Debut Film went to A Girl Unknown by Jing Zou, as decided by a jury comprising filmmaker Erec Brehmer, head of the arts and society section of Vogue Germany Maria Hunstig and animator Geoff Marslett.
The CineRebels Award, worth €15,000, was awarded to Hair, Paper, Water… by Nicolas Graux and Minh Quý Trương, marking the latter’s second victory in the competition after receiving the prize in 2024 for Viêt and Nam. The jury comprised Mimi Plauché, artistic director of the Chicago International Film Festival, filmmaker Narges Kalhor and actor Thomas Hauser. Meanwhile, the CineKindl Award for Best Children’s Film went to Sweetheart by Margherita Spampinato.
As for the German Cinema New Talent Award, Ella Cieslinski and Nina Wesemann were honoured as Best Directors for Dear Future Self, a prize carrying €30,000. The jury, consisting of Haley Louise Jones, Trini Götze and Visar Morina, praised the film’s thoughtful exploration of identity, memory and the future through the intertwined journeys of two lifelong friends returning to their hometown.
Christoph Otto won Best Production for The Ballad from Wednesday to Thursday, with the jury commending the film’s confidence in embracing everyday life and portraying contemporary Germany through the encounters of ordinary people over the course of a single night. Susanne Heinrich received the Best Screenplay Award for The Miserable Mother, also earning a place in Bavaria Fiction’s mentoring programme, while Ricarda Seifried took home the Best Acting Performance Award for her role in Dear Future Self. The FIPRESCI Prize went to Tom Schreiber‘s Beautiful Souls.
Here are all the winners:
CineCoPro Award
Strange River – Jaume Claret Muxart (Spain/Germany)
CineMasters Award
Shame and Money – Visar Morina (Germany/Kosovo/Slovenia/Albania/North Macedonia/Belgium)
CineVision Award
A Girl Unknown – Jing Zou (China/France)
CineRebels Award
Hair, Paper, Water… – Nicolas Graux, Minh Quý Trương (Belgium/Vietnam)
CineKindl Award
Sweetheart – Margherita Spampinato (Italy)
German Cinema New Talent Award
Best Director
Ella Cieslinski, Nina Wesemann – Dear Future Self (Germany)
Best Production
Christoph Otto – The Ballad from Wednesday to Thursday (Germany)
Best Screenplay
Susanne Heinrich – The Miserable Mother (Germany/France)
Best Acting Performance
Ricarda Seifried – Dear Future Self
Other awards
FIPRESCI Prize
Beautiful Souls – Tom Schreiber (Germany)
Young Jury Award
The Swimmers – Sol Iglesias SK (Argentina/Mexico/USA)
Audience Award – National Category
Agnes & Amir – Helena Hufnagel (Germany)
Audience Award – International Category
If Only the Year Had 364 Days – Almourad Aldeeb (Germany/Syria)
CineKindl Audience Award
Splish Splash Forever! – Natascha Beller (Switzerland)
