The Münster Film Festival is an event organised by the Filmwerkstatt Münster. It takes place every two years – in the autumn of odd-numbered years.
The oldest Westphalian competition festival took place for the first time in 1981 at the Cinema under the title Filmzwerge – Tage des unabhängigen Films. Although the name and concept have changed over the years, the German-language short film competition has been the centrepiece of the festival from the very beginning. The supporting programme at the first festival also exclusively showed short films, with a retrospective of early short films by Werner Herzog, Rosa von Praunheim, Wim Wenders and others under the motto “Even dwarves started small”.
It was not until 1985 that the second “Filmzwerge” was held, this time at the Werkstattkino in the former Pumpenwerk on Gartenstraße, today’s Theater im Pumpenhaus. This was the first year that the WDR’s Studio Münster organised its young talent award.
After “Filmzwergen 88”, which presented films and guests from the York film workshop in the supporting programme, the festival moved to the Schloßtheater cinema in the early 1990s, where it remained until 2003.
In 1996, the “Filmzwerge” could not take place due to a lack of public funding. In its place, highlights from previous festivals were shown and a round table discussion on the future of the Münster festival was initiated. The following year, with a new focus, the Münster Film Festival was relaunched under the name it still bears today. 1997 also saw the start of intensive cooperation with our neighbours from the Netherlands. Since this festival, Dutch films have been an integral part of the programme and the country focus, which is unique in Germany, offers a selection of current productions and directors. In addition, the NRW Screenplay Prize was awarded for the first time at the 1997 festival.
1999
The 1999 Münster Film Festival was all about the Netherlands. Under the signet NL+, a retrospective was dedicated to the renowned actress Johanna ter Steege, among others. In addition, the Stichting film|spiegel, which was founded in the same year and has been involved in the exchange of film culture across the border ever since, organised a German-Dutch symposium for co-production, distribution and promotion.
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2001
To mark the 20th anniversary of the festival in 2001, several programme items were launched that explicitly dealt with regional themes. The “Münsterland Film Roll” showed private and public films from eight decades, the Münster.Land screenplay prize was awarded for the first time and a feature film series was dedicated to the theme of “Home”. At the same time, however, the European focus also grew: selected previews of European feature films were shown in the supporting programme under the title “Cinema Europa”.
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2003
The 10th Münster Film Festival in 2003 presented an anniversary programme on women’s filmographies alongside the now established film series of the short film competition, the Dutch section and “Cinema Europa”, which explored the question of what became of all the ambitious female filmmakers who have been represented with short films in Münster over the years, whether they took the long road to big films or turned to other disciplines.
A special highlight was the German premiere of the Dutch-German co-production VERDER DAN DE MAAN – SEA OF SILENCE by Stijn Coninx, which was attended by large parts of the film team.
The most important award in the short film competition, the Filmwerkstatt Grand Prize, was shared this year by Jochen Kuhn for NEULICH 3, the Münster discovery Stephan Flint Müller for NASSE ZIGARREN AUS BERLIN and the directing duo Hanna Nordholt and Fritz Steingrobe for YO LO VI – ICH SAH ES. The WDR Sponsorship Award went to Swiss filmmaker Benjamin Kempf for his film EXIT, while the Audience Award went to Wolfgang Dinslage for DIE KATZE VON ALTONA.
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2005
The 11th Münster Film Festival took place from 19 to 23 October 2005, this time at Kino Stadt New York. For the first time, there was a European feature film competition on the theme of “Growing Up”, in which eight films competed for the director’s prize of EUR 10,000. The winner was the Romanian Radu Mihaileanu with his film LIVE AND BECOME. 68 films took part in the German-language short film competition. The Filmwerkstatt Grand Prize went to the animated film DAS FLOSS by Jan Thüring, the WDR Sponsorship Award went equally to Thomas Wendrich’s short fiction film ZUR ZEIT VERSTORBEN and the short documentary LA VIDA DULCE by Bettina Blümner and Rouven Rech, while the Audience Award was presented to Stephan Flint Müller for his collage FLIEGENPFLICHT FÜR QUADRATKÖPFE. Films by and about Theo van Gogh were shown in the supporting programme in collaboration with the film|spiegel Foundation. The “Heaven and Hell” series showed five love stories in cooperation with the diocese of Münster. The “Münster Connection” programme showed films produced by the Filmwerkstatt Münster or in its environment. A TATORT preview rounded off the film programme. In addition, in keeping with the theme of the European competition, a symposium was dedicated to the work of children and young people in front of the camera.
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2007
The 12th festival took place from 17 to 21 October 2007 at the Cineplex. Eight films took part in the European Feature Film Competition on the theme “Work! Don’t Work!”, eight films took part. The director’s prize was won by Aleksi Salmenperä from Finland with his film MAN’S JOB. The debut feature film GEGENÜBER by director Jan Bonny received an Honourable Mention from the jury.
52 films took part in the German-language short film competition. The Grand Prize of the Filmwerkstatt Münster went to the short film HOCHHAUS by Nikias Chryssos, the WDR Sponsorship Award to HILDA & KARL by Toke Constantin Hebbeln and the Audience Award to 15 MINUTES OF TRUTH by Nico Zingelmann. Honourable mentions went to MR. SCHWARTZ, MR. HAZEN & MR. HORLOCKER by Stefan Müller and KOBE by Rainer Komers. In the first ever school programme, which was also dedicated to the topic of working life, the short film FRL. PABST & FRL. WÜST by Christa Pfafferott received a non-cash prize, which was specially awarded by a jury of pupils.
In the supporting programme, the Münster.Land Screenplay Prize was awarded to Ruth Olshan and Heike Fink for RASPBERRIES WITH MUSTARD, the documentary CAMILO – DER LANGE WEG ZUM UNGEHORSAM by Peter Lilienthal, which was co-produced by Filmwerkstatt Münster, was shown as a preview, and a three-part series of documentaries provided further “insights” into the festival theme of work.
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2009
Full risk and a brilliant win! With around 7,000 visitors, the 13th edition of the Münster Film Festival was the most successful to date and also one of the best. Not only the big “VIP events” such as the German premiere of UNTER BAUERN (to which even “foreign” guests such as football coach Mirko Slomka and Scorpions singer Klaus Meine travelled) and the premiere of the Münster crime scene TEMPELRÄUBER, but also the variety and quality of the “small” films and the warm atmosphere among the makers, guests, jury members and viewers made the five jam-packed cinema days at the Cineplex a great experience for everyone involved.
The winner of the European Feature Film Competition on the theme of “Risk” was the unwieldy, poetic film fairy tale VERSAILLES (one of the last appearances of the late Guillaume Depardieu) by director Pierre Schoeller, who was visibly moved by the honour.
In the short film competition, the Grand Prize of the Filmwerkstatt Münster went to Daniel Büttner and Max Baberg for their animated film FALLEN GELASSEN. The short film jury’s verdict: “The guys from Peppermill-Berlin rock harder than Disney would have allowed!” Honourable mentions went to the actor Jacob Matschenz in the film FLIEGEN and Patrick Doberenz and Philipp Enders for their innovative short documentary MAN STIRBT. The winner of the Audience Award, donated by Münstersche Filmtheater-Betriebe, was the documentary WAGAH by Supriyo Sen about an absurd spectacle at the only border crossing between India and Pakistan. The touching film REGENBOGENGEL by Anna Kasten was awarded the WDR Studio Münster sponsorship prize. In the school programme competition, the student jury awarded its prize for “Courage” to the 10-minute film WIDERSTAND by Baris Aladag.
In addition to the competition entries, the new “Uncanny & Evil” section for fans of fantastic films, the “Münster Connection” with productions from the region, the film|spiegel series with current works from NL and lively discussions in the cosy festival lounge as well as the successful Record Riot festival party and the relaxed filmmakers’ breakfast enlivened the great atmosphere. As a special event, the “risk.view” exhibition, which ran for a fortnight, provided an insight into the current video art work of students from Aki Enschede and the Kunstakademie Münster. And “risk” was also at the centre of the panel discussion, which dealt with “individual risks” in work and everyday life.
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2011
The 14th Münster Film Festival has gilded Münster’s October 2011 with great success, broad resonance and stimulating exchange.
In addition to the heterogeneous selection of short and feature-length films, the organiser Filmwerkstatt presented numerous extras, frames and special sections as well as the top-class video art exhibition “Times Are Us” in the Kunsthalle Münster to mark its 30th anniversary.
At the festive opening with the premiere of TAGE DIE BLEIBEN, author and director Pia Strietmann, who was born in Münster, presented her film with actors from the prominent ensemble such as Götz Schubert in the leading role, Max Herbrechter, Lisa Feller and other participants.
The 7,500 euro prize for best director in the European Feature Film Competition, which this time focused on the theme of “What holds life together”, went to 36-year-old Turkish director Seren Yüce for his film MAJORITY. The rough and authentic “family film” and desperate “love film” by Fatih Akin’s former assistant director celebrated its premiere at the 2010 Venice Film Festival, where it won the Luigi De Laurentiis Award for Best Debut.
Prizes totalling 9,000 euros were awarded in the German-language short film competition. The Filmwerkstatt Grand Prize, donated by Grimm & Partner Unternehmens- und Wirtschaftsberatung and endowed with 5,000 euros, was awarded to two films. The prize went in equal parts to the fascinating animated and documentary film LEONIDS GESCHICHTE by Rainer Ludwigs and Tetyana Chernyavska about a true fate in the shadow of Chernobyl, and to the short feature film VATERMUTTERKIND by Daniel Karl Krause, who graduated from the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy with his oppressive film about the generation of “eternal youth”.
The 31-minute short film JESSI was honoured with the WDR Studio Münster sponsorship award, endowed with 3,000 euros. Directed by Mariejosephin Schneider, who is studying at the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin, the film tells the touching story of a girl who is already trying to find her place somewhere at the age of 11.
Till Nowak’s 6-minute wonder THE CENTRIFUGE BRAIN PROJECT became an audience favourite. After the ballot boxes were counted until the early hours of Sunday morning, the fake documentary was chosen as the winner of the audience vote and received the prize of 1,000 euros from Münster’s film theatre companies.
This time, the short film programme for schools revolved around the theme of “Friendship” and for the first time, the “OmU” school jury prize donated by the Münster subtitling workshop was awarded, which includes the subtitling of the prize-winner’s next film. The winner was the tragicomedy DANIELS ASCHE by Boris Kunz, who graduated from the HFF Munich with this film.
As part of the school programme, an audience favourite was selected for the first time with the film LISTENHUNDE by Steffen Cornelius Tralles, which tells the story of the desperate David, who is sent to prison for a year, and his beloved dog Crazy.
” www.filmfestival-muenster.de/2011/
2013
Whether short or feature-length film, documentary or animation, comedy or drama – the 15th Münster Film Festival at the Cineplex once again had a few surprises in store for its guests.
The programme included 74 short and feature-length films in the various competition categories alone. The programme presented a varied mix of animated, experimental and documentary films through to narrative feature films. The festival also included other events, special sections and the video and media art exhibition “One of us cannot be wrong” at the Kunsthalle Münster.
This year’s opening film was DIE ERFINDUNG DER LIEBE by director Lola Randl, who also won the EUR 5,000 director’s prize in the “European Feature Film Competition” category. However, the shooting of the film was overshadowed by a sad event: in the middle of production, lead actress Maria Kwiatkowsky died of heart failure at the age of 26. However, the director was able to solve this problem in a creative and humorous way, taking the film to a new level in which the boundaries between reality and fiction become blurred. The Israeli-German film YOUTH by Tom Shoval received an honourable mention from the jury for creating a special, universal feeling of youth.
The jury of the German-language short film competition headed by Tom Lass crowned the animated film BLAUER TRAUM the winner of the Filmwerkstatt Grand Prize (EUR 3,000). The film is the graduation film from the Film University Konrad Wolf Babelsberg by graduate Malte Stein and tells the story of a man marked by defeat who experiences love as torture.
The winner of this year’s WDR sponsorship award was somewhat lighter: Boris Seewald’s award-winning dance film MOMENTUM revolves around a tortilla chip, which is more than just a snack for the protagonist. The jury congratulated the film on its ingenious music and perfect editing.
The audience crowned Sylvia Borges’ short film ZU DIR? the winner of the short film award, the prize of the Münstersche Filmtheater-Betriebe. The film was made during her studies at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne and shows how two young people get to know each other in an unusual way after a night of partying. The film was shot at the Osmo-Hallen at Münster harbour.
This year’s Honourable Mentions went to Dutch actor Benny Classens for his performance in BUMPY NIGHT and to director Anne Zohra Berrached for her short documentary HEILIGE UND HURE.
In the short film programme for schools “Filmreif – Kurze für Teens”, the 9-member student jury awarded the prize to STÜRZENDE TAUBEN , the graduation film from the Hamburg Media School by Esther Bialas. The film is about 13-year-old Svenja, who desperately wants to join Janine’s clique. The audience award of the school programme went to the 2D animation film THE HOUR GLASS by Joscha Thelosen. The film deals with death and humanises it in the face of life.
For the first time this year, an audience award was presented in the “Münster Connection” category. Filmmakers from Münster and the surrounding area were able to take part with their projects. This year, we congratulate Daniel Huhn from the Filmwerkstatt Münster for his film WELTKLASSE KREISKLASSE. The documentary film follows the Turkish-German football club “Genclikspor Recklinghausen” from Recklinghausen Süd through a nerve-wracking season full of highs and lows.
” www.muenster.org/filmwerkstatt/filmfestival/15/
2015
After five festival days and nights at the Cineplex Münster and more than one hundred films, after numerous premieres in the various programme sections, exciting discussions and encounters, the winners of the 16th Münster Film Festival have been announced.
The prize for Best Director in the European Feature Film Competition, endowed with 5,000 euros, goes to filmmaker Micah Magee for her feature film debut PETTING ZOO. According to the jury members Christine Haupt, Florian Gottschick, Luna Zimic Mijovic and Thure Lindhardt, the autobiographically coloured and sensitively told portrait of a young woman caught between self-determination and a bigoted parental home convinced the jury with its coherent overall cinematic concept, which reveals an extraordinary directorial talent. The graduate of the German Film and Television Academy Berlin was represented in the programme of the Münster Film Festival 2013 with her short film HEIMKOMMEN. The German-Greek-US co-production PETTING ZOO is Micah Magee’s first feature-length film.
Prizes totalling 7,000 euros were awarded in the short film competition with entries from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The Filmwerkstatt Grand Prize, endowed with 3,000 euros, goes in equal parts to the 30-minute documentary VORWÄRTSGANG by Daniel Abma and the short fiction film ABSEITS DER AUTOBAHN by Swiss filmmaker Rhona Mühlebach. The jury members Oona von Maydell, Maximilian Scheidt and Hella Wenders awarded VORWÄRTSGANG by the graduate of the Potsdam-Babelsberg Film University for a sensitive long-term observation of a re-socialisation – a successful portrait of a person whom society has forgotten. The short fiction film ABSEITS DER AUTOBAHN by 25-year-old Rhona Mühlebach uses atmospheric images and a great deal of humour to show the control mania and derailment, desire for change and stagnation of its two lovingly drawn protagonists. The jury also gave an honourable mention to the quirky comedy DIE BALLADE VON ELLA PLUMMHOFF by Barbara Kronenberg, a graduate of the Academy of Media Arts Cologne.
This year’s WDR Studio Münster sponsorship award, also worth 3,000 euros, goes to the film ALLES WIRD GUT by Patrick Vollrath. The film by the Vienna Film Academy graduate premiered in the short film competition of the “Semaine de la Critique” in Cannes and was recently awarded the Student Oscar in Los Angeles. The Audience Award in the short film competition, donated by the Münstersche Filmtheater-Betriebe and endowed with 1,000 euros, went to the bittersweet, fun-loving, sparkling tragicomedy FOREVER OVER by Erik Schmitt. The filmmaker, who was born in 1980, previously took part in the Münster Film Festival’s short film competition in 2011 with NUN SEHEN SIE FOLGENDES and 2013 with NASHORN IM GALOPP.
The audience award winner of the “Westfalen Connection” section is a native of Hamm: Nina Mielitz and her film WAS WISST IHR DENN EIGENTLICH SCHON DAVON? impressed the audience the most in this section. Nina Mielitz can look forward to a flight for two people within Europe, provided by our co-operation partner Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
” www.muenster.org/filmwerkstatt/filmfestival/16/
2017
After five festival days and nights in the Schloßtheater, sold-out screenings and enthusiastic viewers who took part in the film evaluations for the audience awards with a lot of fun and commitment, with almost eighty short and feature-length films in 45 screenings, intensive discussions and exciting encounters, the Münster Film Festival #17 has come to an end. The winners of the competitions were honoured at the end.
The festival, which took place in the Schloßtheater for the first time since 2003, has quickly settled into its “old new home” and was very well received by the Münster audience. Around 60 filmmakers, jury members, symposium participants and filmmakers who presented their films to the audience in person clearly felt at home at the festival.
The prize for Best Director in the European Feature Film Competition, endowed with 5,000 euros and awarded by the jury consisting of Ada Condeescu, Micah Magee and Markus Knüfken, went to Icelandic filmmaker Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson for his feature film debut HEARTSTONE. Set in a remote fishing village on the rugged Atlantic coast in a shimmering Icelandic summer, the film develops a coming-of-age drama that gets under your skin. HEARTSTONE is his first feature film, with which the 35-year-old has already won the Queer Lion at the Venice Film Festival as well as numerous other festival awards.
Prizes totalling 4,000 euros were awarded in the short film competition with entries from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The Filmwerkstatt Grand Prize, endowed with 3,000 euros, went to RUAH, the short film debut of Swiss actor and director Flurin Giger. The 18-minute short film creates an apocalyptic scenario, a merciless end-time drama in the snow-covered Alps, and won over the jury members Kristina Scepanski, Matthias Kutschmann and Wanja Mues.
An honourable mention went to KAPUTT by Volker Schlecht and Alexander Lahl.
The Audience Award in the short film competition, donated by the Münstersche Filmtheater-Betriebe and endowed with 1,000 euros, went to OBST & GEMÜSE by Duc Ngo Ngoc. This warm-hearted culture clash comedy allows an amazing German-Vietnamese friendship to blossom in a Berlin greengrocer’s shop.
The Audience Award in the Westfalen Connection section, donated by the Westfalen Initiative and endowed with 500 euros, went to the documentary film WERNER by Rainer Bärensprung from Bielefeld, a bizarre biopic about a man who goes his own way, despite or perhaps because of all adversity.
2019
The 18th Münster Film Festival came to an end after five days on 22 September with the festive announcement of this year’s award winners. Despite the unusually sunny and warm weather for this time of year, many film fans once again made their way to the 45 screenings of around eighty short and feature-length films, took part in the extensive film talks and discussions and voted for the Audience Award.
“The decision to focus the competitions and other sections on European film art proved to be the right one. Especially in the short film competition, the expansion to the whole of Europe brought a new diversity of innovative voices and perspectives,” said festival directors Carsten Happe and Risna Olthuis.
Returning to the Schloßtheater for the second year, the atmosphere of the traditional film theatre proved to be an excellent fit for the festival. Around 70 filmmakers and jury members clearly felt at home at the festival and were able to engage in informal dialogue with the audience.
The prize for Best Director in the European Feature Film Competition, endowed with 5,000 euros, went to French director Quarxx for his feature film debut TOUS LES DIEUX DU CIEL (ALL THE GODS IN THE SKY). Quarxx has already enjoyed great success with his short films at renowned international festivals such as Sundance and Clermont-Ferrand.
“A courageous film for the cinema, for the screen and hopefully also for a large audience,” was the verdict of the jury, consisting of actor Götz Otto, Dutch film curator Johan Bunt and Cologne-based producer Herbert Schwering.
Prizes totalling 4,000 euros were awarded in the short film competition with entries from 14 European countries. The Filmwerkstatt Grand Prize, endowed with 3,000 euros and awarded by the jury consisting of Anna Eijsbouts, Patrycja Płanik and Boris Seewald, went to AQUARIUM, the short film debut by Italian director Lorenzo Puntoni.
An honourable mention goes to the young actress Linde van der Storm in the Dutch short film TILL THE END OF THE WORLD by Florence Bouvy. “She raises the film to an unexpectedly emotionally complex level and shows her vulnerability as well as her strength with a maturity without which the production would have failed.”
The audience award in the short film competition, donated by the Münstersche Filmtheater-Betriebe and endowed with 1,000 euros, went to the British entry NOVEMBER 1ST by Charlie Manton. The intense mother-daughter drama is particularly captivating thanks to the performances of its leading actresses Lindsay Duncan and Sophia Myles.
In the Westfalen Connection section, ABSENCE OF LIGHT by Beatrice Aliné was chosen as the best film. The Westfalen Initiative donated the prize money of 500 euros.
2021
After eleven days and nights in the Schloßtheater, sold-out screenings and an enthusiastic audience that participated with joy and commitment in the film evaluations for the Audience Award, after almost 80 short and feature-length films in over 40 screenings, intensive discussions and exciting encounters, the 19th edition of the Münster Film Festival has come to an end. “The decision to spread the film festival out over ten days has in no way detracted from the festival atmosphere, the screenings were well attended and the new sections and formats have enriched the festival. With the ‘Cinema in the Countryside’ series, it was also possible to include the Münsterland region this time,” says Carsten Happe, who runs the festival together with Risna Olthuis.
At the end of the festival, the winners of the competitions were honoured and prizes with a total value of 10,000 euros were awarded. The festival’s main prize for Best Director in the European Feature Film Competition for Debut Films, which is endowed with 5,000 euros, goes to French actress and filmmaker Noémie Merlant for her feature film debut MI IUBITA, MON AMOUR.
The film, starring Gimi Covaci and Merlant herself, was written and conceived by the two main actors and was shot in Romania on a very low budget and with mostly non-professional actors. The film had its world premiere in the “Special Screenings” section at this year’s Festival de Cannes and was invited to the official selection of the San Sebastian Film Festival. The Münster Film Festival is the second German festival to present the film. The actors Gimi Covaci, Sanda Codreanu and Clara Lama-Schmit accepted the award in Münster.
“This is great cinema with probably one of the most loving looks at the details of life and love that cinema has told in recent years,” says the jury statement by Andreas Brauer, Sonja Hofmann and Pia Strietmann.
Prizes totalling 4,000 euros were awarded in the short film competition with entries from 12 European countries. The Filmwerkstatt Grand Prize, endowed with 3,000 euros and donated by Die Linse e.V., went to DER DREHER – 81RPM, a short film documentary by German director Robin Trouillet.
The short fiction film GIRL MEETS BOY by Ferdinand Arthuber was awarded the Audience Award in the short film competition, sponsored by the Münstersche Filmtheater-Betriebe and endowed with 1,000 euros. The irresistible charm attack by the Munich filmmaker is particularly captivating thanks to the performances of the lead actors Franziska Weisz and Carlo Ljubek.
In the Westfalen Connection section, MAVIS AND KOSMAS by Zauri Matikashvili was honoured as the best film. The Westfalen-Initiative Foundation awarded the prize money of 1,000 euros for his documentary look behind the scenes at the Kunstakademie Münster.
2023
For ten days, the festival celebrated European film and delighted audiences with a varied programme at the Schloßtheater Münster. “There were discussions in the cinema foyer long after the screenings. We are particularly pleased that we were able to reach young audiences and many students in particular with our programme this year,” sums up Risna Olthuis, who runs the festival together with Carsten Happe.
The prizes of this year’s Münster Film Festival were awarded at the Schloßtheater on 30 September. The coming-of-age drama I Have Electric Dreams by director and screenwriter Valentina Maurel won the main prize of 5,000 euros in the European First Feature Film Competition.
The short film Mitläufer by filmmaker Frederic Kau was honoured in the European Short Film Competition category, while the jury also awarded a Special Mention for Gedanken eines jungen Menschen beim Anblick einer sich auflösenden Welt by director Jonathan Berlin. The Audience Award, endowed with 1,000 euros, goes to Tuulikki by Teemu Nikki in 2023.
The winners in the Westfalen Connection category were: Morgen irgendwo am Meer by Patrick Büchting won the prize for feature film (endowed with 1,500 euros and donated by the Westfalen-Initiative Foundation) and Die Spökenkiekerin und das Fräulein by Mark Lorei won the prize for short film (endowed with 1,000 euros and donated by the Westfalen-Initiative Foundation).