Prize for the Best Direction
The Hof Critics Award for the Best Direction 2022 goes to
Daniel Popat for STUMM VOR SCHRECK
Jury statement
"A couple goes on vacation. There is obviously a lot to sort out, but the viewers don't know that yet. Arriving at the vacation destination, the home looks very gloomy. Something indefinable is unloaded from the stroller.
Secrets upon secrets. This is how a mystery thriller could begin. Especially as noises are heard in the night. Someone else seems to be in the house besides the two of them. Much could be clarified in a conversation. But here there is no talking. Excuses are searched or it is shouted. Although the nature around the house seems idyllic, everyone here is under pressure.
None of this would work if there weren't masters at work here: an incredible pair of actors, a very creative director who also becomes an important player. Plus, a cinematographer who manages to create great cinema out of minimal setting and low budget."
Prize for the Best Production
The Hof Critics Award for the Best Production 2022 goes to
Ester.Reglin.Film for OLAF JAGGER
Jury statement
"It's Monday, the fifth of November. There is a light drizzle in the persistent fog. Everyone is in a bad mood. German film presents itself like this, or something similar, quite often. The images are desaturated. One is on the lookout for a dreary reality.
Fortunately, there are other examples. Like this constantly slightly off-track permanently yakking person, who is on an apparent search for his father. And the unbelievable debauchery of his deceased mother. In the process, he immerses himself in plump life. There are digressions into a country that no longer exists. There is much talk of sensitivities, of the great misunderstandings. The viewers, as so often in these times, don't really know whether they can trust the story and the images at all. Until in the end, eventually, like in a fairy tale, the good wins."
Jury members
Radovan Holub (film critic), Peter Beddies (MDR) and Geri Krebs (freelance journalist and film critic)
The Hof Critics Award will be awarded at the International Hof Film Festival to a feature film debut from Austria, Switzerland or Germany. The award recognizes a director and the production company that creatively explore innovative avenues and/or address socially relevant issues.
