Grand Diagonale Prize of the Province of Styria – Feature Film

For the Best Feature Film

Martha Mechow

Die ängstliche Verkehrsteilnehmerin

Jury statement: Snow flurries at night. Accompanied by the voice over of an old woman who associatively links disparate motifs to create a poetic text miniature. The disappearance of a mother… From the first image, from the first sound, our senses were wide awake. Spellbound and in quiet amazement, we followed an unpredictable round dance, imbued with an irrepressible joy of experimentation and a delight in storytelling. Director Martha Mechow manages to compose an audiovisual sculpture through her poetic and playful use of language and text, speech, alienation, irritation and music, which is sometimes light-footed, sometimes cerebral, sometimes poetic, silly, then serious again, but always lively. We encountered figures that surprised and fascinated us. Who breathe an unconditional longing for freedom. An ensemble of young women who form a powerful and fascinating structure. Who question the preformed. Who do not accept uncritically, do not fit in or adapt. Who challenge their surroundings and ask questions. About the role of mother. About the couple relationship. About gender roles. And who open up spaces that make surprising and productive answers possible. With this film, we have encountered a way of thinking, a way of feeling, an experience, a view of the world that has stimulated and even enriched us. We have followed the voice of a new director who is searching for her own path and has aroused our curiosity and inspired us with this search.

Honourable mention for

Gerald Pribek

Im Haus der alten Augustin

Jury Feature Film:
Ortrun Bauer (cinematographer, editor, AT)
Elena Meilicke (film critic, DE)
Silvan Zürcher (director, CH)