Grand Prize in the “Un Certain Regard” section at the Cannes Film Festival:
FABW graduate Sandra Wollner honoured for „EVERYTIME“
Sandra Wollner, an alumna of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, was awarded the Grand Prix in the “Un Certain Regard” section at the 79th Festival de Cannes for her feature film EVERYTIME. The film celebrated its world premiere in Cannes and won over the jury with an intense narrative about loss, memory and family turmoil.
In addition to Sandra Wollner (screenplay, directing, co-producer), numerous other FABW graduates were involved in the making of the film: Viktoria Stolpe (producer), Roderick Warich (script consultant), Julia Golembiowski (line producer), Astrid Schäfer (creative producer), Hannes Bruun (editing), Dominik Leube (sound design), Kariem Saleh (VFX) and Matthias “Maciej” Rolbiecki (2nd unit camera).
EVERYTIME is a production by The Barricades in collaboration with Panama Film, in coproduction with ZDF Das kleine Fernsehspiel and in cooperation with ORF.
Sandra Wollner studied documentary film directing at FABW until 2019. Even whilst still a student, she gained international attention with THE IMPOSSIBLE PICTURE and made an early name for herself with a distinctive cinematic style. Her graduation film THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN was awarded the Special Jury Prize in the ‘Encounters’ section at the 2020 Berlinale. In 2021, the film also received the Austrian Film Award, confirming the international acclaim for Wollner’s work. With her latest feature film EVERYTIME, Sandra Wollner consistently continues this trajectory.
EVERYTIME tells the story of a family trying to find a new sense of everyday life together following the death of their daughter Jessie. When the deceased’s former boyfriend re-enters their lives, a fragile web of relationships emerges, which increasingly blurs the lines between past and present during a trip to Tenerife.
The leading roles are played by Birgit Minichmayr, Carla Hüttermann, Lotte Shirin Keiling, Esja Wendel and Tristán López.
FABW was already successfully represented in Cannes last year: the multi-award-winning feature film SOUND OF FALLING (directed by Mascha Schilinski), whose screenwriting was done at FABW (written by Mascha Schilinski and Louise Peter), was awarded the Jury Prize (ex aequo) in the competition at the 78th Cannes Film Festival.
The Cannes International Film Festival is one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals. It has been held annually in May on the Côte d’Azur since 1946. The main venue is the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes. The top prize in the International Competition is the Palme d’Or.
The 79th edition of the Film Festival took place from 12 to 23 May 2026.
The “Un Certain Regard” section is one of the most important competition sections at the Cannes Film Festival and presents international film productions each year that demonstrate a distinctive artistic style and original narrative forms.
Photo: (c) Elsa Okazaki
*Roderick Warich is a scholarship holder of the foundation Baden-Württemberg Stiftung and took part in an international partner programme as part of his studies at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.