Winners

GRAND PRIZE OF THE CITY OF INNSBRUCK 2016

BEST ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTARY

JUMBO WILD, Nick Waggoner, USA 2015
JURYSTATEMENT: This film achieves to be both at the same time: a beautiful mountain film and a real environmental documentary. A fight for nature, environment, history and trust has been thoroughly followed for many years. The complexity of the struggle is shown from every aspect and visualizes the importance of the battle between wilderness protection and economic development.

 
HONORABLE MENTION:
VOICES FROM CHERNOBYL, Pol Cruchten, Luxembourg 2016
JURYSTATEMENT: Crossing the genres of fiction and documentary andpresenting images that keep haunting your memory for a long time this film is a very special experience, taking you to the very place of a world-­‐changing-­‐catastrophy. Living side by side with these characters, we understand the complexity oftheir lives after the accident in such a way that the audience is provided with authenticity, strength and perspective and almoststarts to live in Chernobyl.
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BEST NATURE DOCUMENTARY

LIGHT ON EARTH, Joe Loncraine, UK/Austria 2016
JURYSTATEMENT: Innovative camera techniques literally illuminate creatures hiding in the dark and hiding from our perception. Never-­seen-­before footage, astonishing facts delivered by the legendary Sir David Attenborough bring us back in awe of the wonders of nature in a childlike fashion. A wonderful piece of nature documenta

 
HONORABLE MENTION:
SOUL OF THE ELEPHANT, Beverly & Dereck Joubert, Botswana/Austria 2015
JURYSTATEMENT: A very personal and empathetic approach to the topic of ivory and elephants. By travelling into the very heart of the Botswanian elephant territories the filmmakers manage to also provide a journey into the soul of the elephants. Sensitively told without sensational self-­‐aggrandizement, this film brings us nearer to these grey giants than any film has ever done before.
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CANON AWARD 2016

BEST SHORT FILM

ESEL, Rafael Haider, Austria 2015
JURYSTATEMENT: This film with its slow and fragile rhythm, exposing the touching relationship established between a farmer and his donkey really disconnects the viewer from time and space, allowing you to take a break from the fast-­‐paced world we live in. This film strongly speaks to your heart without having to say much at all.

 
HONORABLE MENTION:
THE PRAY, Alex Jones, USA 2016
JURYSTATEMENT: This film is described as an action adventure popcorn movie for wildlife films, borrowing elements from the biggest blockbusters but moving the focus to a smaller main character and its life as an expert predator. Astonishing close-­ups of amazing sharpness make this movie an entertaining trip into the world of the Dead Leaf Mantis.
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BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

EL MOSTRO. THE DARING STORY OF GABRIELE BORTOLOZZO, Lucio Schaivon & Salvatore Restivo, Italy 2015
JURYSTATEMENT: An amazing, strong and moving story about the struggle for a better environment and the dignity of mankind. Told in a beautiful style of animation this film shows an industrial monster swallowing up its surroundings and consuming every living creature. A story now more relevant than ever.

 
HONORABLE MENTION:
MIA’, Amanda Strong & Bracken Hanuse Corlett, Canada 2015
JURYSTATEMENT: This animation is a very subtle film, exposing the interior struggle of the indigenous main character seeking her identity and a link to her past closely connected to nature, something which has been lost in the hurried life in the city. The different styles of animation and the story of its main character really harmonize beautifully and make the film deserve an honorable mention.
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TIROLER TAGESZEITUNG AWARD 2016

YOUNG TALENTS < 25

VERDE CHORUME, Roberta Bonoldi, Brazil 2016
JURYSTATEMENT: Cinematically thrilling story on the subject of waste. Staged in a Favela in Brazil, the director tells the story about consumption, wastage and the people involved. The circuit of one of the most central environmental concerns of present times is illustrated as an eternal loop: produce, buy, dump it. Waste dumps are getting larger and those at the very end of the consumption chain try to manage the daily routine by collecting and separating disposal waste.

 
HONORABLE MENTION:
RAGONDIN, Antoine de Bujadoux, France 2016
JURYSTATEMENT: A fiction film about a muskrat, complemented by great cinematography. Not a nature film by definition, but this film convinces cinematically, narratively and through its great post-­production. This young french filmmaker carries a promise for the future.
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YOUNG TALENTS < 19

UNESCO WELTERBE – ALTE BUCHENWÄLDER DEUTSCHLANDS, Janis Klinkenberg, Germany 2016
JURYSTATEMENT: No doubt an outstanding documentary from a very talented young filmmaker. Keeping up with his more experienced and established colleagues, he presents excellent images, combined with a beautiful narrative voice. Also with regards to content this film is well developed. Congratulations.

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SWAROVSKI OPTIK AWARD 2016

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

MAGICAL MOORS, Jan Haft, Germany 2015
JURYSTATEMENT: Fantastic time lapses and close-­ups bring this magical world of moors to the screen in an astonishing way. Outstanding cinematography and smart editing deliver and emphasize an atmosphere, like it can only be found in a moor. Hauntingly beautiful! A masterpiece.

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FA. FRÖSCHL AWARD 2016

BEST FILM ON THE TOPIC OF SOIL

LANDS FOR FREEDOM, Paul-Jean Vranken & Jean-Christophe Lamy, Belgium 2015
JURYSTATEMENT: An excellent documentary, demonstrating alternatives to commercial agriculture. The view into small-­scale farms, run by families, convinces that soil plays an important role for a sustainable agriculture. The movie demonstrates impressively that having a lasting interaction with nature secures the production of valuable food and enables a robust autonomy through its value added.

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