Families and their secrets
Three awards for PARADEISA, one prize for DOSENMUTTER and an honourable mention for KAN KARDEŞİ – THOSE IN BETWEEN: Students and graduates of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg (FABW) enjoyed multiple successes with their productions at the 60th International Hof Film Festival.
The graduation feature film PARADEISA won the Friedrich Baur Gold Prize, the Bild-Kunst Sponsorship Award for production design and the Hof Critics’ Prize for Best Directing and Best Production. DOSENMUTTER was awarded the Pharos Shiver Screen Award. KAN KARDEŞİ – THOSE IN BETWEEN received a special mention in the “Granit” documentary film competition.
Triple award winner: PARADEISA
At the heart of this graduation feature film is eleven-year-old Lou, who is trying to keep her family together. To help her eccentric artist father, she assists him in faking his own death – in the hope that his paintings will finally increase in value as a result. But the lie takes on a life of its own, increasingly threatening the family’s stability. Lou must realise that letting go may be the only way forward.
For her sensitive directing, Marleen Valien* received the Friedrich Baur Gold Prize, Germany’s most highly endowed award for emerging directors. The prize comprises a certified gold bar currently valued at around 35,000 euros, as well as a year’s mentoring, and is awarded by the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts in memory of Heinz Badewitz.
Nicolette Krebitz, mentor for the Friedrich Baur Gold Prize, praised the film’s distinctive narrative style: “With astonishing lightness of touch, the director tells a story of death, the creation of a work of art, and the longing for love and family.” Through the eyes of its young protagonist, the film remains in motion and captures those defining moments that can change a whole life.
The production design by Teresa Berner and Felicitas Antonia Püls won over the jury of the Bild-Kunst Production Design Award. The jury particularly highlighted the loving attention to detail, which allows the audience to immerse themselves in the film’s richly contrasting inner and outer worlds. The prize, worth 2,500 euros, honours designers who imbue films with atmosphere, depth and visual poetry – and build a stage for stories
The Hof Critics’ Prize for Best Directing and Best Production was awarded to director Marleen Valien, as well as – for the production and her work with Kurhaus Production Film & Medien GmbH – the producers Daniel Reich, Julius Wieler, Christoph Holthof and Tristan Schneider.
The jury praised the elegant interplay of comedy and coming-of-age drama, the original use of animation and the distinctive visual language. It also commended the trust and creative freedom that the production team had afforded the young director to realise her vision.
Pharos Shiver Screen Award for DOSENMUTTER
Alexander Peskador* was awarded the 2026 Pharos Shiver Screen Award for his graduation film DOSENMUTTER. The horror comedy combines black humour with a story that is as absurd as it is gory: Wilhelm wants to sell the house of his late mother, Hildegard. But whilst clearing out the house, she returns from the dead as a rolling coffee tin and begins to defend her beloved home by drastic means.
The jury was particularly impressed by the precise direction, featuring dry, witty dialogue, an outstanding ensemble cast and a constant stream of surprising twists. The film consistently takes its absurd premise to the extreme, whilst undergoing development of a distinctive cinematic style.
The internationally oriented Pharos Shiver Screen Award is presented by The Playmaker Munich and Pharos – The Post Group. It comes with a cash prize of 2,500 euros and also includes a mentoring programme with an option on worldwide distribution rights.
Honourable mention for KAN KARDEŞİ – THOSE IN BETWEEN
KAN KARDEŞİ – THOSE IN BETWEEN by Esra Laske* received an honourable mention in the competition for the GRANIT – Hof Documentary Film Prize.
The 94-minute documentary film, produced in coproduction with Third Picture, follows two young people in divided Cyprus: Ayşegül and her best friend Adnan grow up just a few metres from the UN buffer zone in the Turkish-controlled part of the capital, Lefkoşa. Whilst Ayşegül dreams of a life in France, Adnan’s goal is to become a professional badminton player. Political boundaries, family expectations and personal conflicts put their friendship and future plans to the test.
The jury praised the director’s sensitive approach to her protagonists and the remarkable trust she had built up with them. The camera’s close proximity draws the audience directly into their world. The honourable mention was awarded for a sensitive, multi-layered and deeply human cinematic work.
The Hof International Film Festival is one of Germany’s leading film festivals and celebrated its 60th anniversary from 20 to 25 October 2026. Over the course of six days, a total of 136 feature films, documentaries and short films were screened. At the awards ceremony on Friday evening, 23 October, nine film prizes with a total value of 57,500 euros were awarded.
Following their festival premieres, the films will remain available via the HoF on-demand platform as part of the “plus7streamdays” until 1 November 2026.
*Alexander Peskador, Marleen Valien and Esra Laske are scholarship holders of the Baden-Württemberg Foundation and have taken part in international partner programmes as part of their studies*