Film enthusiasts choose winners at film festival in Mainz
Numerous films were honored at a festival in Mainz on Sunday evening. The special feature: The award winners were not chosen by a jury, but directly by the audience. "FILMZ is a festival for the public," said Hannah Wieland from the festival management. It wasn't just the numerous spectators on site who were able to vote, film enthusiasts could also vote for their favorite productions online.
The best documentary film was "A Father's Love" by Leon Noel Schardt, which received prize money of 1500 euros. Christina Ebelt was delighted to receive the same amount of prize money for her film "Monster im Kopf", which won in the feature film category.
Gabriel Bihina Arrahino received the most audience votes in the medium-length film section and 800 euros in prize money for "I was never really here". The prize for the best short film and 500 euros went to Paul Raatz with "Vom Stehen und Fallen". Filmmakers were also recognized for their productions in other categories.
The "FILMZ - Festival of German Cinema" has been organizing competitions in various film categories on a voluntary basis since 2001 and shows current productions from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Since 2022, the festival has also awarded a special prize of 2500 euros from the state capital of Mainz for outstanding achievements behind the camera. Head of Cultural Affairs Marianne Grosse (SPD) selected this year's special award winners at the start of the festival. The curatorial festival team will decide on the winners of the special award.
The audience chose "A Father's Love" by Leon Noel Schardt as the best documentary film, earning it a prize of 1500 euros at the film festival. Gabriela Bihina Arrahino's medium-length film "I was never really here" received the most audience votes and was awarded 800 euros.
Source: www.dpa.com
