These future storytellers won awards at the
43rd FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH 2024
Exciting short films and many questions from the audience at the 43rd FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH; Photo: Tobias Obermeier.
After an intense festival week, the awards in the two competitions of the 43rd FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH – Festival of Future Storytellers were presented on Friday evening. 60 diverse short films and exciting labs and talks have already drawn more than 4,000 people to the movie theaters at the University of Television and Film Munich (HFF) and the Hack the Future Lab. On Saturday, there will be programs of short films and best-of screenings all day long.
What did the future storytellers like about the festival? What requests and advice do established filmmakers have for them? There was talk of resilience, of failing and moving on, of daring to make films that don’t quite meet the usual expectations or that don’t meet them at all, of the tremendous inspiration that other students’ stories and films have given many of them. Friendships have been forged, as have networks for future projects.
“Our new concept is working. The International and DACH Competitions complement each other wonderfully and reflect the entire range of works by young filmmakers. Our talks and labs have complemented the lineup of films in a variety of ways, offering our guests inspiration through new ideas and positive outlooks for the future. We’re already looking forward to the 2025 Festival of Future Storytellers and wish to motivate all film schools to send larger student delegations to Munich.” (Christoph Gröner, festival director and Julia Weigl, artistic co-director)
The top award in the International Competition was presented by the jury (Sophya Kallista Frohberg, David Kwok, and Thanasis Neofotistos) to PASSARINHO by Natalia García Agraz (CCC, Mexico).
Passarinho
Natalia García Agraz
Natalia García Agraz is a director and screenwriter from Mexico. She studied photography at the Escuela Activa de Fotografía and directing and screenwriting at the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica. She directed the short film EL ÚLTIMO ROMÁNTICO, which was nominated as the Mexican entry for the 2019 Student Oscar, and has participated in more than 60 international festivals, including the Tribeca Film Festival, the Palm Springs Film Festival, and the Morelia Film Festival. As a screenwriter, she has contributed to feature films and series for Netflix, Woo Films, The Lift, Amazon, and HBO. She recently directed the short films PASSARINHO (2024) and UNA REVOLUCIÓN (2023). She is currently writing and developing ACAPULCO, her first feature film.
A Special Mention went to DE GALLO QUI OVAVIT by Nina Forsman (ELO, Finland).
De Gallo Qui Ovavit_Nina Forsman
Nina Forsman
Nina Forsman (born 1987) is a film director and editor from Helsinki. She holds a Master of Arts in documentary film from Aalto University and a degree in film editing from the Tampere University of Applied Sciences. Nina has edited several award-winning documentaries, feature films, and TV series. Her latest films as a director are REFLECTING ICE and THE ROOSTER WHO LAID EGGS. REFLECTING ICE toured festivals around the world, was nominated for best cinematography at the Camerimage Festival in Poland, and received the Golden Kapok Award at the GZDOC Festival in China.
The Arri Award for best documentary, for which films in both competitions were eligible, was presented to THE END OF VACATION by Raphaël Venayre and Antoine Guerci (INSAS, Belgium).
The end of vacation
Raphaël Venayre,
Raphaël Venayre is a director and screenwriter from INSAS whose professional life is divided between Paris and Brussels. His short fiction and documentary films, made during his studies, have been selected for various festivals in Belgium, where they have received awards (Federation Wallonia-Brussels Award at the Brussels Short Film Festival 2024, Audience Award at Cut to: Gent 2024, Short Film Corner at the Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur 2023).
Antoine Guerci
Antoine Guerci is a young French cinematographer. He began his studies in Nantes in the Ciné-Sup preparatory class and then transferred to INSAS in 2018. In 2022, he completed his graduation project FRANCIS & GEORGES, based on the world of painter Francis Bacon. Since 2023 he has been working on Gustave Pierre’s film JOURS DE MAI.
This year’s award for best animation — also presented across both competitions — goes to FISH RIVER ANTHOLOGY by Veera Lamminpää (ELO, Finland).
Fish river antology_Veera Lamminpää
Veera Lamminpää
Veera Lamminpää, born in 1994, is studying film directing with a minor in animation at Aalto University in Finland. A director, screenwriter, and animator, she is currently working on her first feature film, which will be a science-fiction comedy.
Making its selection from among all 60 films in the two competitions, the audience voted online for the winner of the Audience Award, choosing THE STEAK by Kiarash Dadgar (SOORE, Iran).
The Steak_Kiarash Dadgar
Kiarash Dadgar
Kiarash Dadgar holds a master’s degree in theater and literature from Soore Art University. He has been involved in several Iranian short films, series, and theater productions. He was a producer of the short film JOUISSANCE (Filmschoolfest 2022). THE STEAK has been screened and honored at various international festivals.
In the DACH competition, the jury (Eva Krenner, Anton von Lucke, and Selin Dettwiler) presented the top award for best film, to THE BIRTHDAY PARTY by Francesco Sossai (DFFB, Germany).
The Birthday Party
Francesco Sossai
Francesco Sossai was born in the Dolomite region of Italy in 1989 and began making short films at an early age. He moved to Rome, where he completed a degree in English and German literature. He was then accepted to the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). His first feature-length film, ALTRI CANNIBALI, had its world premiere at PÖFF 2021, where it was named best first feature. The film subsequently had its Italian premiere at the 39th Torino Film Festival and was screened at festivals around the world. Francesco is currently working on his second feature film, LE CITTÀ DELLA PIANURA.
The DACH jury awarded the Panther Prize for best production of a film to FIRE DRILL and thus to producer Cléo Campe (FBKW, Germany).
Fire Drill
Maximilian Villwock
Maximilian Villwock studied film directing at the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. His film A PASSAGE was nominated for the Yugo BAFTA Student Award in 2023. Other works of his have been screened at the Guanajuato International Film Festival, the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Camerimage, and the Uppsala Short Film Festival. PENTHESILEA, a medium-length feature film, was nominated for best short film at the Studio Hamburg Young Talent Awards and was broadcast by German TV channel 3sat. Max currently lives and works in Berlin.
Cinematographer Giulia Schelhas (DFFB, Germany) received the Student Camera Award for her cinematography on THE BIRTHDAY PARTY by Francesco Sossai.
In the DACH competition, Elina Huber, Jill Vágner, Noémi Knobil, and Sven Bachmann (HSLU, Switzerland) won the award for best screenplay , sponsored by the Waldleitner family, for their animated film CREVETTE.
Crevette
Elina Huber, Jill Vágner, Noémi Knobil, Sven Bachmann
Elina Huber, Jill Vágner, Noémi Knobil, and Sven Bachmann studied design, film, and art at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. CREVETTE is their graduation film.
Crevette_Elina Huber_Jill Vágner_Noémi Knobil_Sven Bachmann
Other juries and awards
A new award created by the Queer Media Society was presented by the QMS Award jury (Monika Treut, Lan Rommel, Stéphane Riethauser, Toby Chlosta, and Anna C. Geißler), which has reviewed both competitions and is awarding two prizes this year. The prize money has been doubled, with 2,000 euros each going to CURA SANA by Lucía G. Romero (ESCAC, Spain) and SON by Saman Hosseinpuor (UAST, Iran). Both awards are sponsored by Warner Bros. Discovery Germany, with support from the FFF Bayern.
Cura Sana
Lucía G. Romero
Lucía G. Romero was born in 1999. She developed an interest in storytelling at an early age and was encouraged to pursue it by her mother, a literature professor, and her father, a television editor. She studied cinematography at ESCAC – Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya and graduated last year. CURA SANA is her graduation film.
Cura Sana_Lucía G. Romero
Son
Saman Hosseinpuor
Saman Hosseinpuor, born in 1993, comes from the Kurdish region of Iran. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in film studies. In 2024 he participated in the 74th Berlinale Talents. He has made 11 short films and received more than 70 awards at international festivals. SON is his third film at FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH, after THE OTHER and CONGENITAL.
Saman Hosseinpuor
The Wolfgang Längsfeld jury (Michael Wiedemann, Michael Croce, and Miranda Namicheishvili), which presents its award each year to the most original film in the International Competition in memory of festival founder and HFF film professor Wolfgang Längsfeld, has selected the film PAUL AND PAUL by Hugo Drechsler (NFA, Netherlands)
Paul and Paul
Hugo Drechsler
Hugo Drechsler was born in Haarlem, the Netherlands, in 1998. As a documentary filmmaker, he aims to highlight social issues in a tragicomic way. He has a penchant for the unusual and enjoys telling small stories that address a larger social issue.
The jury for the Arte Short Film Prize (Barbara Häbe and Laurence Rilly) has selected THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE FOREST by Szymon Ruczyński (PWSFTviT, Poland) from the International Competition. Arte will obtain the broadcast rights to the film and air it in its magazine segment on short films, “Kurzschluss”.
There are people in the forest
Szymon Ruczyński
Szymon Ruczyński was born in Hajnówka, Poland, in 2000. He is currently studying animated film and special effects at the National Film School in Łódź. He grew up in Białowieża, a village in the middle of the forest of the same name which serves as a source of inspiration for his award-winning films. Since 2021, Szymon has been involved in bringing humanitarian aid to refugees hiding in the forest. His films combine various techniques of animation to tell stories about socially relevant issues.
This year’s Prix Interculturel, has gone to DOU by Jing Zhao (LFS, United Kingdom). This prize was awarded on Thursday. The jury (Eckart Bruchner, Galina Antoschewskaya, Ileana Cosmovici, and Bhagu T. Chellaney) gave an honorable mention to THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE FOREST by Szymon Ruczyński (PWSFTviT, Poland).
Dou_Jing Zhao_neu
Jing Zhao
Jing Zhao is a writer and director from Beijing, a graduate of the London Film School, and a current BAFTA Connect member. Having studied psychology, she often draws upon psychological theories to project her personal experiences, observations and thoughts into her films, with the aim of creating complex and authentic female characters and exploring their struggles in intimate relationships. Multicultural conflicts are also a frequent theme in her films. Her recent films WALLS and THE CUT have been screened at the Nara International Film Festival and Vision du Reél.
ROYAL ARTS VISIONS; These future storytellers won awards at the 43rd FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH 2024