This year’s Friese Award goes to an animated film that takes us into the experiences of a family forced to leave their home due to a major flood. We are thrilled by the picturesque images, which suspensefully narrate the fateful life of the shrew family. We especially enjoyed the funny moles that help the family find a new home at the end. The theme of escape and searching for a home shows how important it is to have empathetic friends so that there can be a happy ending. We sincerely congratulate Marjolaine Perreten on her film “Pebble Hill”.

The special mention goes to a short film that makes us beam. It tells about two sisters who romp a lot, laugh, play and just have a good time together. The beautiful painted pictures show their adventures together, in which you can see that they love each other very much and always stick together, no matter what. The two sisters are a great role model that you can have a lot of fun even if you are different. We congratulate Anne-Sopie Gousset and Clément Ceard for their successful film, “Sisters”.

In the film, a serious topic was embodied in a funny way. The message behind the film is a very serious one, as a viewer one is definitely stimulated to think. We loved the idea of a documentary within a feature film. The scene in which the family starts dancing reminded us of a musical, which gave the film a special humor.

Also in this film we found the message to be taken very seriously. But, especially through the great animation, the topic was presented very funny. The fact that a robot bee can feel emotions and thus create or save new life, the jury found very great. The film shows us what we can be capable of if we pay attention to our feelings.

This year’s winning film is a documentary from Canada. The filmmaker tells the story of the relationship of a pair of twins. Together they cope, despite the handycap of one of the twins, their everyday life constantly anew. Through the images and the music, the film takes us on a very emotional journey of the twins.

We would like to commend the short film Terra Mater by Kantarama Gahigiri this year. The question of how do we find healing has been very much on our minds.The short film is very stirring and gives us a lot to think about ourselves and our society. Thank you for this wonderful short film.

The jury was impressed by the broad selection of European short films that were presented us. The many different forms, genres and styles exited and amazed us. Accompanied by the enthusiastic children of Hamburg, our judging duty was a joy, but in the end we needed to make hard and difficult decisions.  

 The winning film took the audience to unexpected places and situations. A strong, colourful, visual film that kept us on the edge of our seats from the very first scene and is equal parts serious and humorous. A film with a positive message about giving and taking, a loving family that manages to overcome difficulties and is a tribute to the power of imagination.