Press Releases 2019

The public has cast its votes: the 21st Panorama Audience Awards go to 37 Seconds for best fiction film and Talking About Trees for best documentary. The awards are presented by the Berlinale Panorama section in collaboration with radioeins and rbb television (Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting).

Yuma is 23 and a wheelchair user on account of cerebral palsy. But the comic book artist can certainly hold a pencil. Determined to live life on her own terms – and at arm’s length from her overprotective mother – she stumbles across manga porn. Born in Osaka, Japan, HIKARI studied film and TV production at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. With her short films she received numerous awards at festivals all over the world. 37 Seconds is her first feature.

In an attempt to revive an old cinema in Sudan, four friends encounter insurmountable resistance. The film, which focuses on the history of Sudanese cinema, also sheds light on the current situation in this crisis-ridden country. Born in Sudan in 1979, Suhaib Gasmelbari lived there until the age of 16. He studied film at the Université Paris 8 in France and worked as a freelance cameraman and editor for Al Qarra, Al Jazeera and France 24. He has written and directed many short fiction films and documentaries. Talking About Trees is his first feature-length documentary.

The official award ceremony will be held at 5.00 pm on Sunday, February 17, at CinemaxX 7 at Potsdamer Platz. The prizes will be awarded by Martina Zöllner (rbb TV, programme director of the documentary and fiction section) and Robert Skuppin (radioeins programme director). Knut Elstermann, radioeins film expert, and Panorama head Paz Lázaro and co-curator Michael Stütz will host the event. Directly after the ceremony, the Panorama Dokumente winner will be shown. The feature film will be screened at 8 pm, also in CinemaxX 7.

The Panorama Audience Award has been established in 1999. Since 2011, the awards are given to both, the best fiction film and the best documentary film. During the festival, moviegoers are asked to rate the films shown in Panorama on voting cards after the screenings. In 2019 a total of 29.000 votes were cast and counted.

This year Panorama presented 45 feature-length films from 38 countries, of which 15 screened in the Panorama Dokumente series.

Panorama Audience Award Winner Fiction Film 2019
37 Seconds
Japan 2019
by HIKARI

2nd place Panorama Audience Award Fiction Film 2019
Šavovi (Stitches)
Serbia / Slovenia / Croatia / Bosnia and Herzegovina 2019
by Miroslav Terzić

3rd place Panorama Audience Award Fiction Film 2019
Buoyancy
Australia 2019
by Rodd Rathjen

Panorama Audience Award Winner Panorama Dokumente 2019

Talking About Trees
France / Sudan / Germany / Chad / Qatar 2019
by Suhaib Gasmelbari

2nd place Panorama Audience Award Panorama Dokumente 2019
Midnight Traveler
USA / United Kingdom / Qatar / Canada 2019
by Hassan Fazili

3rd place Panorama Audience Award Panorama Dokumente 2019
Shooting the Mafia
Ireland / USA 2019
by Kim Longinotto

Press Office
February 16, 2019