| Diagonale Awards Cinematography 2025 |

| BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY FEATURE FILM |
| from the Association of Austrian Cinematographers AAC |

Mostafa El Kasheef
The Village Next to Paradise

Jury Statement:
Clear, tidy images that know what to show and what to leave out: small gestures of affection, bundles of banknotes, political protest, a sea that gently laps, and the wind that continuously blows new characters through the open metal door into the hut. This camera knows when to distance itself and when to get close to the characters. It frames a reality distant from us with calm and precision, as if to say: Look closely at this – in all its contradictions and hope.

and

| BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY DOCUMENTARY FILM |
| from the Association of Austrian Cinematographers AAC |

Serafin Spitzer und Serhiy „Stefan“ Stetsenko
Dear Beautiful Beloved

Jury Statement:
The cinematography follows the filmmaker’s radical and clear decision: the focus, which simultaneously means a turning away. Who is given attention and who is not? How can we show the work of those who care for the elderly and the dead, who defend the dignity of the individual as an act of resistance against the logic of war, which destroys exactly that? The camera succeeds in maintaining the necessary balance of respectful proximity and sober distance in confined spaces, where physical closeness is unavoidable. It reveals the visibility of body politics as an interpersonal relationship. The visual composition makes vulnerability visible – grief, exhaustion, perseverance, and moving forward – while offering an expanded perspective on the war of aggression in Ukraine.

Jury Feature Film
Hans Broich (Director, Producer, DE)
Malika Rabahallah (Festival Director, Producer, DE/FR)
Nele Wohlatz (Director, DE)

Jury Documentary Film
Annett Busch (Curator, Writer, DE)
Stefan Neuberger (Cinematographer, DE)
Christof Schertenleib (Editor, Director, CH)