WEST by Christian Schwochow (zero one film, TERZ Film, öFilm) won the FIPRESCI Prize in the World Competition at the 37th edition of the Montreal World Film Festival. The lead actress Jördis Triebel was named Best Actress. FINSTERWORLD (Walker + Worm Film) by Frauke Finsterwalder was awarded the Bronze Zenith in the Competition for First Fiction Films. THE WAGNER FILES by Ralf Pleger (gebrueder beetz filmproduktion) received the Audience Award for the Best Documentary. The awards were presented at a gala ceremony in Montreal on 2 September.
WEST, an adaptation of Julia Franck's novel „Lagerfeuer“, celebrated its world premiere in Montreal. Jördis Triebel can be seen as Nelly Senff, who moves from East Berlin to the West with her son in the late 70's and has to begin her new life in an overcrowded refugee camp. The FIPRESCI jury, which is composed of members of the federation of international film critics, motivated its choice for WEST for, among other things, „the extraordinary capacity to breathe life in every character on screen.“
The prizes in the Competition for First Fiction Films were awarded by a three-person jury comprising Pierre-Henri Deleau, the co-founder and former director of the Quinzaine des Reálisateurs at the Cannes Film Festival, Wieland Speck, the programme head of the Panorama section at the Berlinale, and the Chinese film critic Raymond Zhou. After its German premiere at the Filmfest München, FINSTERWORLD has now picked up its first international award with the Bronze Zenith on the occasion of its international premiere. The film, whose screenplay was written by Frauke Finsterwalder together with the besteller writer Christian Kracht, is set in a Germany which is seemingly from another era and where a dark abyss lurks behind the beauty of this parallel world.
In THE WAGNER FILES, which was named Best Documentary by the audience, the director Ralf Pleger had set himself the goal of exploring the connection between Richard Wagner's person and his overwhelming music. He extends the documentary style to include animation elements and fictional scenes. The story of Richard and Cosima Wagner is told in the style of a Hollywood melodrama from the 50's. The dialogues are based on original quotations from Wagner's letters and Cosima's diaries, supplemented by commentaries from Wagner experts and connoisseurs.
The Montreal World Film Festival is one of the oldest festivals in Canada and accredited by the FIAPF as an A-festival. It was held this year from 22 August to 2 September. A total of 37 German films and co-productions were shown.
Interview with the Director