AWARDS 2026 | AWARDS 2026 |
ANARCHAFEMINIST DIVINATIONS
What if utopias and positive turns in seemingly hopeless situations were presented in prophecies instead of terrifying the listeners with apocalyptic forebodings? With Anarchafeminist Divinations, Işıl Karataş opens up precisely this space for discussion, countering the paralysis of a world in multiple crises with the hope for positive developments.
On a visual level, the film invites viewers to offer their own interpretations and perhaps even to make their own predictions. Enjoy these speculative futures and let yourself be inspired.
BACCANTI
In her film Baccanti, Emma Scarafiotti reads the ancient motif against the grain and reinterprets the transformation of the all-female protagonists. Their metamorphosis into animals ultimately proves not to be an evolutionary regression, but rather a rebellious hybridization against oppressive norms. A shared connection with one another and with nature ultimately becomes the foundation for a new beginning.
Visually, the film captivates with long and highly precise tracking shots that don't diminish the powerful performances of the protagonists. A clever epilogue establishes such a clear foundation that the subsequent film develops meaningful tension and rhythm even without spoken words but with an impressive soundtrack.
HOLY MERCURY
Andy Madjitey and Kojo Affedzie clothe a toxic environmental catastrophe in hauntingly beautiful images. Like mercury-induced hallucinations, these sequences are associatively collaged. However, the two multidisciplinary filmmakers skillfully avoid predictable clichés, because in Holy Mercury, beauty does not mean pleasing the viewer.
Andy Madjitey and Kojo Affedzie masterfully employ strategies and skills from fine art, performance, and fashion design. Although the titular poisoning of Ghana's water resources remains ever-present, it does not become the film's raison d'être. Holy Mercury offers viewers a glimpse into this complex problem, but is wise enough to avoid simplistic answers. This does not, however, imply passivity, but rather enables a dialogue on equal footing within the intellectual space it opens up.
WE ARE ANIMALS
With We Are Animals, Lorenzo Pallotta impressively demonstrates that sometimes the best stories are hidden within existing footage. From seemingly innocuous archival material, he assembles a truly gripping film around an intimate, voice-over monologue. It is precisely from the ordinariness of the recordings that the film draws its unsettling atmosphere.
The success of this feat is due not only to the excellent script, but also significantly to the editing and rhythm of the footage. The grainy source material lends the film a timelessness that will undoubtedly allow it to age gracefully.
HONORARY MENTIONS 2026 | HONORARY MENTIONS 2026 |
DULL SPOTS OF GREENISH COLOURS
In times of resurgent nationalisms, targeted weakening of independent journalism and omnipresent misinformation, Sasha Svirsky traces the process of the continuous takeover of the apparatus by formless actors. | Dull Spots of Greenish Colours
IN THE OCEAN OF TIME
Korinna Krauss skillfully replaces reason with emotion in science fiction. The result is a poetic journey through the ocean of time. | In the Ocean of Time
NINE TIMES BETTER
Emma Dock and Lorenzo Follari imaginatively give form to the emotional life of their protagonist, a contemporary interpretation of the love goddess Venus, through costume and set design. | Nine Times Better
THE QUARRY ON SUNDAY
Melissa Leicht's debut film succeeds in combining a documentary perspective, literature and contemporary composition into a worthwhile reflection on the Anthropocene and its momentary nature in the geological timescale. | The Quarry on Sunday