Short film Nackte Männer im Wald [Naked Men in the Woods] wins 2023 ZF Short Film Prize and 2023 ZF Art Foundation Audience Award 

2023 ZF Short Film Prize and 2023 ZF Art Foundation Audience Award go to Austrian film director Paul Ploberger.

The Filmtage Friedrichshafen Film Festival Now or Never celebrates its live comeback at the Kiesel. Austrian film-maker Paul Ploberger wins the ZF Short Film Prize and the ZF Art Foundation Audience Award.

For the fourteenth time in a row, the Filmtage Friedrichshafen Film Festival Now or Never was held from March 2 to 6. After the Covid-related online edition of September 2021, festival-goers attending the popular film festival were once again able to experience short films and documentaries from Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as an international children’s short-film programme live at the Kiesel in Friedrichshafen. The highlight of the festival was the short-film competition featuring fourteen very different short films by young film directors competing for the ZF Short Film Prize and the ZF Art Foundation Audience Award. Late into the night the audience enjoyed the entertaining competition programme in the special atmosphere of the Kiesel venue and eagerly awaited the announcement of the award winners.

The festival jury comprised Daniel Hadenius-Ebner, festival director of the international short-film festival VIENNA SHORTS, film-maker and author Marcus H. Rosenmüller, cultural journalist and author Anke Sterneborg, actor Tomasz Robak and Regina Michel, executive manager and curator of the ZF Art Foundation. After an intense session the jury decided in favour of the short film Nackte Männer im Wald [Naked Men in the Woods] and awarded the ZF‑Short Film Prize worth EUR 15,000 to this delightful comedy by Austrian film director Paul Ploberger.

The jury was ‘thrilled and touched by the refreshingly different look at life’s big moments artfully showcased in Nackte Männer im Wald: a cancer diagnosis, a coming-out within a marriage, and a child that goes out into the world – all told in an original and entertaining way, yet always truthfully. Tragic situations are not captured with shock or horror, but with levity. Moments that are embarrassing or filled with shame are never ridiculed, but treated with humanity and disarming humour. And although the storylines become ever more bizarre, they remain grounded in real life and believable in a sympathetic way. In what is seemingly a simple story, the director manages to subtly lampoon the toxic speechlessness in family and society as well as the pressure to hide illnesses, proclivities and fears in order to maintain the appearance of an idyllic family. Everything could be so simple if people just spoke plainly, in ways both pragmatic and humorous. With a fine balance of precision and truthfulness, we were moved by the entire cast, right down to the smallest cameo role,’ to quote the statement by the jury.

The charming comedy about ‘toxic speechlessness in family and society’ was also the clear favourite with the audience, which meant that the ZF Art Foundation Audience Award worth EUR 1,000 also went to Nackte Männer im Wald by Paul Ploberger. The young Austrian film-maker was overwhelmed and, indeed, initially speechless. Visibly deeply touched, he then proceeded to express his thanks to both the jury and the audience.

Paul Ploberger was born in Austria in 1986. After training as an actor and engagements both as an actor and a photographer, he decided to step behind the camera. He was accepted at the Vienna Film Academy where he enrolled in the film directing course and, during his studies, produced several short films that were screened at international festivals, picking up a number of prizes. He currently works as a screenwriter and director.

Press Release:
2023 ZF Short Film Prize and 2023 ZF Art Foundation Audience Award go to Austrian film director Paul Ploberger.

More information:
Preisträger 2023, Paul Ploberger

The Now or Never – Filmtage Friedrichshafen Film Festival took place for the 14th time from 2 to 6 March 2023

The festival, organised by the Kulturbüro Friedrichshafen, features short films and documentaries by young film-makers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland and offers an opportunity to see films that have already won numerous awards and are well worth seeing.

The Filmtage selection jury put together an exciting programme with many topical references. And this year it was once again ‘live and in colour’. Screened at the film festival were entertaining, high-quality and socially relevant films. Moderated audience discussions with the film-makers in attendance were available after the screenings.

This exciting and delightful film festival has been sponsored by the ZF Art Foundation for ten years now. And this year, for the second time, the ZF Art Foundation provided EUR 15,000 for the ZF Short Film Prize and EUR 1,000 for the ZF Art Foundation Audience Award. The prizes were presented on Saturday, March 4, following the last short-film programme.

We were particularly pleased that Jalal Maghout, winner of the ZF Short Film Prize 2021, was given a platform on the second day of the festival. Ahead of the renewed screening of the 2021 winning film, Have A Nice Dog! by Jalal Maghout, the film-maker presented his current film production at the Kiesel venue, made possible in part by the prize money endowed by the ZF Art Foundation.

For more information:
www.filmtage.friedrichshafen.de

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