Last night six prizes were awarded during the closing ceremony of the Filmfest Hamburg and in the presence of actress Isabella Rossellini. Director Hany Abu-Assad, whose film "Omar" was screened as the closing film at the sold-out CinemaxX Dammtor, was also a guest of honour. Two other awards, the Douglas-Sirk Award and the Michel Award, had been previously presented. Julia Westlake hosted the evening’s festivities.
Festival director Albert Wiederspiel was very content with how the 2013 Filmfest Hamburg played out:
“We had full theatres, well over 250 directors, actors and producers as guests, and an audience that was highly praised by the filmmakers. The film festival audience was very open to discussions and was not afraid to talk about political issues. The festival also took us on a journey through world cinema. The fact that the Iran Deluxe section was the most successful nation retrospective at the Filmfest Hamburg is also evidence of this.
We are especially happy that our festival centre, the tent in front of the Abaton Cinema, turned out to be exactly what we always wanted it to be: a meeting place for the audience and the filmmakers. And: The awarding of the Douglas-Sirk Award to Tilda Swinton was a wonderful and prestigious highlight during the ten-day festival.
The Hamburg film scene also made their presence known throughout the festival, both in the discussions in the theatres and during the various supporting events. Filmfest Hamburg also serves as a showcase for the film industry in Hamburg. The “16:9 - TV in Theatres” section very well received even though we were, unfortunately, unable to give out the Best Producer award this year. The Michel Children and Youth Film Festival was a complete success and sold out nearly every day even with the excellent weather outside and despite the fact that it took place during the autumn holidays.”

1. Hamburg Film Critic Award
The winner:  "Metro Manila", written and directed by: Sean Ellis, Britain, Philippines
Excerpt from the jury statement:
“The themes of our times are what define this film: rural exodus and impoverishment, exploitation and poverty in the Moloch of overcrowded metropolises. Director Sean Ellis filmed this story in a language that is foreign to him - and yet still always manages to hit the right tone. He is emotional, yet never impassioned; poetic, yet never tawdry; raw without any hint of cynicism. A social drama that becomes a thriller, breathless and unstoppable. “Metro Manila” deserves to be seen by many. This film belongs in the cinema. ...”
The members of the jury were Volker Behrens (Hamburger Abendblatt), Catarina Felixmüller (NDR 90.3), Bernd Teichmann (Stern) and Daniel Sander (Der Spiegel). The news magazines “Der Spiegel“ and “Stern“, the newspaper “Hamburger Abendblatt“ and radio station “NDR 90.3“ have awarded this prize to a production that offers an original view of selected issues since 2004. Twelve films were nominated.

2. Montblanc Scriptwriting Award
The winner: "Tore tanzt (Nothing Bad Can Happen)", written and directed by: Katrin Gebbe. The award was presented by actress Isabella Rossellini.
Excerpt from the jury statement:
“Faith. Love. Hope. These are nothing more and nothing less than the spiritual pillars of civilisation formed in the Christian tradition. But we were convinced by the courage and radicalness with which the author brought these three spiritual powers into dramatic questioning. We found the horrific consistency with which this story of the fight between good and evil is told to be both thrilling and lasting.
We experience the willingness to be a victim in a person beyond any sense of heroism or romantic glamorisation. This is troublesome. And that is why it is stimulating. The author succeeds in using simple means to open our eyes to what the human soul, for better or for worse, will always be: a puzzle. And we left the theatre with this feeling: damned and without redemption, but not entirely hopeless.”
This prize is endowed with 10,000 EUR and is awarded to a film in the “Nordlichter” category (Northern Lights) in cooperation with the renowned Hamburg company Montblanc.
The members of the jury were Volker Einrauch (screenplay writer, Josefine Filmproduktion), Leila Abdullah (actress) and Wolfgang Treu (director of photography). Six productions were nominated.

3. The Political Film
This award was given to two films deemed to be of equal merit:
The winner: "Fire in the Blood" , directed by: Dylan Mohan Gray, India
Excerpt from the jury statement:
“This film is about AIDS in developing countries and the fight for affordable medicine. The western pharmaceutical industry prevents the manufacture of generic (affordable non-brand name) drugs and decides who may live and who must die. The omnipotence of the industrial associations (in this case the WTO - World Trade Organisation) is very well researched and made appallingly clear. A film that serves as a call to arms.”
The winner: "Dast-Neveshtehaa Nemisoosand (Manuscripts Don't Burn)", directed by: Mohammad Rasoulof, Iran
Excerpt from the jury statement:
“Iran in the 1990s. We follow two secret service agents who are out to spy on, torture and murder their fellow men. A quiet, dark and fully concentrated journey into the absolute despair of living under a totalitarian regime. The universal political message is the existence of the film itself. The fact that it exists shows that it is possible to live a self-determined life even under the most horrendous of circumstances and to create an epic work.”
The members of the jury were Leslie Franke (author, director), Anke Kuhbier (Chairperson of the Hamburg Cultural Forum) and Richard Reitinger (Head of Film Studies at the Hamburg Media School). The Friedrich-Ebert Foundation rewards socially ambitious cinema with this new prize, which was awarded for the first time this year. The award comes with an endowment of 5,000 EUR. Twelve films were nominated.

4. NDR Young Talent Award
The winner: "Short Term 12", written and directed by: Destin Cretton, USA
Excerpt from the jury statement:
“The jury was unanimously delighted by ‘Short Term 12’. Destin Cretton succeeded in making that rare work of art that tells a sad story in a manner that is not only suspenseful, but also as complex as its colourful characters necessitate. He discovered faces that leave a distinct impression, actors who capture the empathy of the audience and hold it to the very end.”
The Young Talent Award has been given out since 2008; the endowment of 5,000 EUR has been provided by NDR since 2012. The award promotes filmmakers who are making their full-length film debut at the Filmfest Hamburg or who are showing their second production as a director. The members of the jury were Eva Geberding (filmmaker, author) Katja Studt (actress) and Willi Winkler (journalist). Twelve films were nominated for the award.

5. Art Cinema Award
The winner: "La Vénus à la fourrune (Venus in Fur)", written and directed by: Roman Polanski, France, Poland
On loan from: Prokino Filmverleih GmbH, planned to hit theatres 21.11.2013
Excerpt from the jury statement:
“Roman Polanksi reaches the highpoint of his artful staging of psycho duels, which he began more than fifty years ago with “Knife in the Water” ("Nóz w wodzie”), with his film “Venus in Fur” ("La Vénus à la fourrure”). Polanski realised a masterful adaptation of Leopold Sacher-Masoch’s intimate power and role-playing games with the ingenious actors Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Amalric.”
This award was given out for the sixth time by the International Art Cinema Network (C.I.C.A.E.) at the Filmfest Hamburg. The jury was comprised of three cinema operators: Dietmar Zingl (cinematograph, Leokino Innsbruck), Melanie Hoffmann (Kinokult e.V. Programmkinos Ludwigsburg), Gunar Klapp (Kino Onikon, Herdecke/Ruhr Region). The Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein provides a 5,000 EUR endowment for the award and helps promote PR efforts for German film distribution. Twelve films were nominated.

6. Häagen-Dazs Audience Award
The winner: "Les gamins (The Brats) (Grosse Jungs - Forever Young)", written and directed by: Anthony Marciano, France
This prize, endowed with 5,000 EUR, was presented by actress Wanda Perdelwitz of Hamburg. The audience voted for the winner by ballot. Six films were nominated. The question was: Which European box office hit in the “Eurovisual” category was the best?

The Michel Award for best film was awarded earlier in the afternoon.
7. Michel Award
The winner: "Felix", directed by: Roberta Durrant, screenplay by: Shirley Johnston, South Africa
Excerpt from the jury statement:
“We chose ‘Felix’ because it is a film that address a variety of topics such as racism and family conflicts. It also shows how important it is to pursue your dreams. We especially liked the wonderful South African jazz music that is interwoven throughout the film. Felix also deals with serious subjects in a humorous and understandable way.”
Caroline Sassmannshausen of the Hamburg Culture Foundation accepted the award on behalf of the director, Roberta Durrant, who had already departed. Durrant did, however, express her thanks in a video.
The Hamburg Culture Foundation and the Rolner Foundation will be jointly awarding the Michel Award at the Filmfest Hamburg Michel Children and Youth Film Festival for the next three years (2013-2015). A seven-person jury made up of boys and girls ages 11-14 viewed the nominated films under age-specific criteria during the festival and awarded the best film prize endowed with 5,000 EUR during the final event.

The Michel Children and Youth Film Festival, which is organised in cooperation with the LUCAS Children’s Film Festival in Frankfurt, has been held at the Abaton Cinema since 2012.

8. The Douglas-Sirk Award was presented earlier during the festival:
The award went to the British actress Tilda Swinton on 2.10.2013.
Her latest film, "Only Lovers Left Alive" by Douglas-Sirk Award-winner (1999) Jim Jarmusch, was screened at the Filmfest Hamburg.

The 22nd Filmfest Hamburg will be held from 25 September to 04 October 2014.
The 12th Michel Children and Youth Film Festival will be held from 26 September to 04 October 2014.