Titles by Alexe Poukine, David Bim, and Soujiro Sanada had been among the many winners of the competitors sections at this 12 months’s Munich Worldwide Movie Pageant (MIFF) which wrapped on Sunday (July 6).
The €15,000 award for greatest worldwide movie within the CineMasters competitors went to the French-born director Alexe Poukine for her narrative characteristic directorial debut Kika, a couple of social employee who turns into a intercourse employee after studying some tragic information. It premiered in Cannes’ Critics’ Week, with Totem Movies dealing with gross sales.
The CineVision competitors jury awarded the most effective worldwide movie by an rising director prize price €10,000 to Cuban filmmaker David Bim’s observational documentary To The West, In Zapata, which follows a pair making an attempt to help their youngster within the swamplands of Zapata, a biosphere reserve in Cuba. Austria-based Sq. Eyes is dealing with gross sales on the movie which had its world premiere at Visions du Réel this April.
Accepting the award on stage, Bim mentioned: “I do consider that cinema can change us and make us thirsty however not for water like after I first met Mercedes [one of his film’s protagonists] eight years in the past, however fairly for one thing even clearer and extra important. Cinema provides us a thirst for freedom.”
Sponsored by the competition’s foremost accomplice Audi, the €15,000 award within the CineRebels competitors for worldwide auteurs daring to interrupt the mould went to Japanese director Soujiro Sanada for his surreal second movie Okamoto, a couple of man who has been requested to carry onto mysterious cardboard bins. It premiered on the Tallinn Black Nights Movie Pageant final 12 months.
The €3,000 CineKindl Award for the director of the most effective movie within the competition’s CineKindl part went to Omaha’s Cole Webley. Omaha is Webley’s debut characteristic, and stars John Magaro as a father taking his two kids on a street journey throughout the rugged southwest of america after a household tragedy. It premiered at Sundance within the US Dramatic Class part, with Cercamon dealing with gross sales.
A particular point out within the class went to André Kadi and Karine Vézina’s Hola, Frida!, whereas the €2,500 Younger Jury Award was introduced to Jing Yi’s The Botanist.
The Fipresci prize for a movie screening within the New German Cinema part went to Jacqueline Jansen’s debut characteristic Sechswochenamt, whereas the competition’s viewers voted for Julius Grimm’s absurd afterlife comedy Zweigstelle within the nationwide class and Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Worth within the worldwide class. The CineKindl viewers award was received by Nina Wels’ animated characteristic Tafiti – Throughout The Desert.
Reflecting on his second version in cost, competition director Christoph Gröner mentioned a spotlight from this 12 months was Gillian Anderson gathering the CineMerit award in particular person forward of a screening of The Salt Path.
“I didn’t know that you might cry together with your jaw fairly than your eyes. It was a really emotional second and she or he was so gracious and went to [speak to] the followers for an additional half-hour.” Stellan Skarsgard was additionally honoured at this 12 months’s competition.
Viewers figures
In accordance with provisional figures collated by MIFF, there have been 91,000 guests to round 600 screenings and occasions through the competition week – up from 71,000 to round 500 occasions in 2024. Nonetheless, for the primary time the 2025 determine additionally contains round 16,000 attendees to business networking occasions additionally held through the competition.
Attendees at business occasions included Ethan Hawke (who’s capturing The Weight in Bavaria).
Inventive director Julia Weigl added: “We’re extremely comfortable as a result of the cinemas had been full, the audiences had been enthusiastic, there have been many standing ovations.”