For the 36th time, Filmfest Dresden has celebrated short films from all over the world. The German festival, which unspooled from 16-21 April, screened a dense programme featuring fictional, documentary and animated works. Besides several competitions, it focused on different special topics, such as utopian visions of the future. Also in the spotlight were particular regions, such as Sicily, South Tyrol and Chile.

Three competitions were at the core of this year's edition. The prizes awarded to the winners of the National, International and Regional Competitions were worth of a total of €72,000. Eight different juries composed of professionals from the film industry as well as young film enthusiasts chose from 60 competing short films. The awards ceremony took place at the Filmtheather Schauberg, one of the festival’s main venues.

In the International Competition, the Golden Horseman for Animated Film was given to the French-Colombian co-production La Perra by Carla Melo Gampert. The prize is sponsored by the State Chancellery of Saxony and was endowed with €7,500. The jury said: “In a sensual atmosphere, humans with animalistic features interact and unveil the taboo of female sexual pleasure. Torn between violence and delicacy, with a very precise sense of rhythm, this beautifully stylised, hand-painted film depicts a visceral and organic vision of human relationships.” The Golden Horseman for Animated Film in the National Competition went to Daniel Sterlin-Altman’s Carrotica, which celebrated its world premiere at Filmfest Dresden. It was endowed with €3,000 and clearly charmed the jury: “It manages to maintain a balance between the characters’ idiosyncrasies and humour, as well as their shame and insecurities, without ever diluting the emotional worlds.” The third prize for an animated short, the DEFA Promotion Prize Animation, meanwhile, went to the musical Zoopticon by John Frickey, Thies Mynther and Sandra Trostel. It was worth €3,000.

The winner of the Golden Horseman for Short Fiction Film in the International Competition was the Chilean-Argentinian co-production Alien0089 by Valeria Hofmann. The award is worth €7,500. The equivalent accolade in the National Competition, endowed with €3,000, was bestowed upon Marie Zrenner for Alex in the Fields. One of the biggest trophies, with accompanying prize money of €20,000, is the Saxon Film Promotion Prize, sponsored by the Saxon State Ministry of Science, Culture and Tourism. It went to a short in the National Competition – namely, to Sensitive Content by Narges Kalhor.

Two shorts won more than one award each. Mast-Del by Maryam Tafakory, a co-production between Iran and the UK, received the “Fully Political” Short Film Award for Democratic Culture as well as the Dresden Short Film Award of the Association of German Film Critics. Moreover, the film received a Special Mention from the Youth Jury in the International Competition. A total of two awards went to the Austrian-German co-production Land of Mountains by Olga Kosanović, which received both the Golden Horseman of the Youth Jury and the Golden Horseman of the Audience in the National Competition. The film also received an Honourable Mention from the jury for the “Fully Political” Short Film Award for Democratic Culture.

The Golden Horseman of the Audience in the International Competition was awarded to the Polish production Zima by Tomasz Popakul and Kasumi Ozeki. Finally, Finn Ole Weigt and Paula Milena won the Golden Horseman Central German Competition, which is endowed with €3,000, for Urlaubsversuche.

Here is the full list of award winners:

International Competition

Golden Horseman for Animated Film
La Perra - Carla Melo Gampert (France/Colombia)
Special Mention
The Lovers - Carolina Sandvik (Sweden)

Golden Horseman for Short Fiction Film
Alien0089 - Valeria Hofmann (Chile/Argentina)
Special Mention
Oyu - Atsushi Hirai (France/Japan)

Golden Horseman of the Audience
Zima - Tomasz Popakul, Kasumi Ozeki (Poland)

Golden Horseman of the Youth Jury
The Beads - Rafaela Camelo, Emanuel Lavor (Brazil)
Special Mention
Mast-Del - Maryam Tafakory (Iran/UK)

National Competition

Golden Horseman for Animated Film
Carrotica - Daniel Sterlin-Altman (Germany)
Special Mention
Technically_Breathing - Markéta Müllerová (Germany)

Golden Horseman for Short Fiction Film
Alex in the Fields - Marie Zrenner (Germany)

Golden Horseman of the Audience
Land der Berge – Olga Kosanović (Austria/Germany)

Golden Horseman of the Youth Jury
Land der Berge – Olga Kosanović (Austria/Germany)
Special Mention
My Orange Garden - Anna-Sophia Richard (Germany)

Saxon State Minister of Culture and Tourism Promotion Prize
Sensitive Content - Narges Kalhor (Germany)

DEFA Promotion Prize Animation
Zoopticon - John Frickey, Thies Mynther, Sandra Trostel (Germany)

ARTE Short Film Prize National & International
The Un-chaotic Cabinet that Wishes for Me to Sleep - Cillian Green (Ireland)

Golden Horseman for Sound Design
The Electric Kiss - Rainer Kohlberger (Austria/Germany)

Luca Film Award for Gender Equality
My Orange Garden - Anna-Sophia Richard

“Fully Political” Short Film Award for Democratic Culture
Mast-Del - Maryam Tafakory
Special Mention
Land der Berge – Olga Kosanović

German Critics’ Award
Mast-Del - Maryam Tafakory

Regional Film Night: Audience Award
Urlaubsversuche  - Finn Ole Weigt, Paula Milena (Germany)