Saturday evening the 21st Neisse Film Festival drew to a close in the three-country corner. Since Tuesday, the only film festival worldwide to unite film fans from and in three countries at once had presented approximately 90 feature films, documentaries and short films on screens in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. In addition to three competitions and various thematic film series visitors enjoyed an acompnying program including for example a reading by Marion Brasch, a concert with the Ukrainian rapper alyona alyona. The Focus series this year was dedicated to "Female Perspectives" in film and more.

Festival Team pleased

The festival team surrounding the co-directors Ola Staszel and Andreas Friedrich were positive as they looked back at the festival week: "We have had intense festival days with stirring moments in film and fascinating Q&As and conversations. We have received a lot of positive feedback on our film selection. The three-country region was once again a very special backdrop for the personal interactions between audiences and filmmakers which make a film festival," explains Ola Staszel. "Once again our sincere thanks goes to our partners and supporters, above all the predominantly volunteer teams and the many helpers in the festival headquarters and in the various screening locations, without whom the festival would not be possible."

Main Prize goes to Polish Feature Film "Tyle co nic" (Next to Nothing)

The Neisse Fish, the festival award sculptures, were given Saturday evening at the awards ceremony in Goerlitz. The top prize in the competition for the "Neisse Fish: Best Feature Film", sponsored by the Saxon Ministry of Culture and Tourism with €10,000 was awarded the Polish film "Tyle co nic", or "Next to Nothing" by Grzegorz Dębowski. "A highly political and unfortunately far too seldom-seen perspective of people in great hardship. Caught between the requirements set in Brussels by people who often do not know the actual local conditions, and life in the villages, a small community is on the verge of splitting apart. More than ever when one of them is found dead," describes the jury, and continues: "The film follows this societal split with precise camera and editing. It however also shows the hope for a better future for people who feed us all and thus should not be something we are indifferent about."

The Polish entry "Skąd dokąd" (In the Rearview) by Maciek Hamela received the Best Documentary award, sponsored in the amount of €5,000 by the regional campaign So geht sächsisch. The film shows the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and accompanies people who are fleeing the country. "Skąd dokąd" was also awarded the "Special Prize" of the festival, granted to a film chosen from among all films shown at the festival for how it portrays in a special way understanding for cultural and ethnic differences in various countries or existing similarities.

The award sponsored by the city of Zittau for Best Acting has gone to Magdalena Cielecka and Marta Nieradkiewicz for their performance in the Polish feature film "Lęk" (Anxiety) by Sławomir Fabicki. Michal Lošonský and Anna Nyitrai were awarded the prize sponsored by the city of Goerlitz for Best Production Design for their work on the Slowack-Czech feature film "Moc" (Strength) by Mátyás Prikler. The Neisse Fish for Best Screenplay, sponsored by the Liberecký kraj (Region of Liberec), went to Klaudiusz Chrostowski for the Polish entry "Ultima Thule", which he also directed. The German entry "The Silence of 600 Million Results" by Sophie Lahusen won the award for Best Short Film.

The approximately 4,500 festival attendees also chose their favorites: the audience favorite prizes for full-length films shown in the 21st Neisse Film Festival, sponsored by ZWON, a local public transportation association, went to the German feature film "Rohbau" by Tuna Kaptan and the German documentary "Echoes from Borderland" by Lara Milena Brose. As favorite short film the Polish entry "Na żywo" (Live Broadcast) by Mara Tamkovich was chosen. This award was sponsored by the city of Zgorzelec.

The 22nd Neisse Film Festival will take place from May 20-25, 2025.