After eleven days and nights at the festival venue Schloßtheater, full-house shows and enthusiastic audiences who participated with joy and commitment in the film ratings for the audience award, after almost 80 short and feature films in more than 40 shows, intense discussions and exciting encounters, the 19th edition of Filmfestival Münster draws to a close. At the very end, the competitions’ award winners were honoured, prizes totalling 10,000 euros were awarded.
The main award of the festival for Best Directing within the European Feature Film Competition for Debut Films, including prize money of 5,000 euros, goes to the 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 both leading actors, and shot in Romania on a very tight budget with mostly non-professional actors. It world premiered in the special screenings section at this year’s Festival de Cannes and was invited in the official selection at San Sebastian Film Festival. Filmfestival Münster is the second German festival to present the film. The actors Gimi Covaci, Sanda Codreanu and Clara Lama-Schmit were accepting the award in Münster.
“Mi iubita, mon amour” tells the story of young actress Jeanne who’s traveling to Romania to celebrate her bachelorette party with her friends when she meets Nino and his family. They are worlds away from one another, yet for the two of them it is the beginning of a passionate and timeless summer.
“With this year’s award for Best Director, the jury not only honors the individual performance of the director, but also the joint creative achievement of a very special duo: Noémie Merlant and Gimi Covaci developed and wrote their film together and took on the leading roles. Together they convince with a love story that is actually impossible, because it reflects the clash of two different worlds and cultures. 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.”, the jury’s statement by Andreas Brauer, Sonja Hofmann and Pia Strietmann reads.
In the short film competition with entries from 12 European countries, prizes totalling 4,000 euros were awarded. The Grand Prize of the Filmwerkstatt, endowed with 3,000 euros and donated by Die Linse e.V., goes to “Turning Man – 81RPM”, a short film documentary by German director Robin Trouillet.
Ferdinand Arthuber‘s comedy-drama “Girl Meets Boy” was awarded the Audience Prize in the Short Film Competition, donated by the Münstersche Filmtheater-Betriebe and endowed with 1,000 euros. The irresistible charming film captivates in particular with the performances of its leading actors Franziska Weisz and Carlo Ljubek.
In the section Westfalen Connection “Mavis and Kosmas” by Zauri Matikashvili was awarded best film. The Stiftung Westfalen-Initiative donated the prize money of 1,000 euros.
The 20th Münster Film Festival will take place in autumn 2023.
