Diagonale 2014 Film Festival Winners

The Grand prize for the Best Austrian feature film went to the director Houchang Allahyari for The Last Dance, a story about a young civil servant who falls in love with the elderly patient at the hospital where he’s working as a carer.This is the second Diagonale prize for Allahyari, after a festival success of his short documentary The Persian crocodile which brought him the Grand prize in this cathegory back in 2012. For her exceptional representation of an Alzheimer’s patient in The Last Dance Erni Mangold was awarded the Grand Diagonale Acting Prize. Those who go Those who stay by Ruth Beckermann, a film “that delves into the theme of journeying through the world and one’s own life – of fortunes, everyday actions, trips and escapes” – won the Prize for the Best Documentary and the award for the Innovative Cinema went to High Tide by Luke Marxt.
Gloria Dürnberger’s The child was in the box is the winner of the Documentary Audience Award.

At the opening ceremony of this year’s festival, Georg Friedrich was handed the Grand Diagonale Acrting Award, designed and donated by the Austrian artist Eva Schlegel. Overall, the Diagonale prizes in 2014 were worth about €165,000.

The complete list of all Diagonale 2014 winners:

Grand Diagonale Acting Award for exceptional performance by an Austrian actor or actress in an Austrian film,in cooperation with VDFS – Verwertungsgesellschaft der Filmschaffenden (a collecting society in the audiovisual field which operates in Austria under Austrian law) given at the opening ceremony to Georg Friedrich. Diagonale Acting Prize for a remarkable performance by an Austrian actor and actress in a Diagonale 2014 film. (€3,000 each donated by Verwertungsgesellschaft der Filmschaffenden and BAWAG P.S.K.)
Winners:
Erni Mangold for The Lastdance
Gerhard Liebmann for no less than his three roles in films Blutgletscher, Das finstere Tal and Bad Fucking

 

Grand Diagonale Prize feature donated by the Province of Styria Kultur Europa Außenbeziehungen
Winner:
Houchang Allahyari for The Last Dance (€15.000 donated by Land Steiermark/ Kultur, services worth 4.000€ by Synchro-Film, Video & Audio GmbH & services worth 2.000€ donated by Mischier Films – Filmdatensicherung)
The prize money is given to the director of the film, the non-cash prize goes to the film’s production company.

Grand Diagonale Prize Documentary
Winner: Ruth Beckermann for Those who go Those who stay
(€15.000 donated by Land Steiermark/ Kultur, services worth €4.000 by Synchro-Film, Video & Audio GmbH & services worth 2.000€ donated by Mischier Films – Filmdatensicherung)
The prize money is given to the director of the film, the non-cash prize goes to the film’s production company.

Best Short Film (€4.000 donated by Servus TV)
Winner: Stefan Bohun for Music
Special mention: Alexandra Makarová for SOLA

Best Short Documentary (€4.000 dobated by Diocese of Graz)
Winner: Antoinette Zwirchmayr for Der Zuhälter und seine Trophäen (The Pimp and his Trophies)

Innovative Cinema
by the City of Graz
Best Innovative Experimental or Animated Film
(€6.000 donated by Graz City Kulturressor and services worth over €4,500 donated by Golden Girls Filmproduktion)
Winner:
Lukas Markt for High Tide and Reign of Silence

Best Cinematography
by the Austrian Association of Cinematographers (€4.000 each)
Winners:
Thomas W. Kiennast for Das finstere Tal (Feature)
Joerg Burger and Attila Boa for Das große Museum (Documentary)

Best Young Talent Film (€4.000 donated by Land Steiermark/ Jugend)
Winners: Britta Schoening, Michaela Taschek and Sandra Wollner for Uns geht es gut (We‘re doing fine)

Austrian Editors Association AEA Prize
Best artistic editing of a Feature Film (€3,000) donated by VDFS – Verwertungsgesellschaft der Filmschaffenden
Winner:
Karina Ressler for October November (Feature)

Best artistic editing of a Documentary Film (€3,000 donated by VDFS – Verwertungsgesellschaft der Filmschaffenden)
Winner:
Dieter Pichler for Das große Museum (Documentary)
The prize for best artistic edit is given to the editor of the respective film.

Sound Design (Feature Film/ Documentary) by Verband Österreichischer Sounddesigner/innen VOESD (€2.000 each)
Winners:
Christoph Amann for Shirley – Visions of Reality (Sound Design in a Feature)
José Miguel Enriquez and Alejandro de Icaza for Calle López (Sound Design in a Documentary)

Best Production Design & Costume Design (€3.000 each,donated by the Verband Österreichischer Filmausstatter/innen )
Winners:
Christina Schaffer for Fever (Production design in Feature Film)
Theresa Ebner-Lazek for Die Werkstürmer (Costume Design in Feature Film)

Carl Mayer Script Prizes initiated and developed by Graz Kulturressort as part of the Diagonale
The Main prize (€14,500) was not given to anyone this year. Insted, the Prize for Young talents (€ 7,200) was divided among three script writers:
Tina Leisch for the script Vom Anblick der Waffen versprach ich mir Hände
Wolfgang Muhr for the script More than alone
Rainer Weidlinger for the script A trip to the Moon

Thomas-Pluch Script Prizes (drehbuch VERBAND Austriain cooperation with the Diagonale) for the best script of a full-length feature film or full-length tv movie with €12.000donated by the Federal Ministry for Education, Art and Culture.
Winners (this year the prize is shared):
Götz Spielmann for October November
Agnes Pluch and Nikolaus Leytner for Die Auslöschung

Thomas-Pluch Prize for short and middle length Feature Films
for the best script of feature film between 15 and 70 minutes. (€3.000 donated by the Federal Ministry of Education, Art and Culture
Winners: Vanessa Gräfingholt, Clara Trischler and Jakob Pretterhoferfor Tuppern.

Dor Film Prize For Script developing (€5.000) donated by Dor Film in celebration of their 25th anniversary. For the treatment of a long feature cinema movie.
Winner: Nathalie Borgers for the script Rose, Blanche & Dara

Prize for Innovative Production Services (€10.000 donated and awarded by VAM verwertungsgesellschaft für audiovisuelle Medien GmbH)
Prisma Film- and TV production for Alphabet and Dor Film for the Last of the Unjust
There are two winners this year:
Lukas Marxt for High Tide
Special mention: Josephine Ahnelt for Wasser aus Korn

Best Artistic editing of a feature film/ documentary film (€3.000 each donated by the VDFS – a collecting society in the audiovisual field which operates in Austria under Austrian law)
Winners:
Karina Ressler for October November (Feature)
Dieter Pichler for Das große Museum (Documentary)

Kleine Zeitung Audience Prize (€3.000)
Winner: Gloria Dürnberger for Das Kind in der Schachtel (The Child was in the Box)