The 16th Crossing Europe Film Festival Linz (25-30 April) handed out its awards at a ceremony last night in the Ursulinensaal festival venue in the Upper Austrian Culture Quarter.

In the Fiction Competition, dedicated to first and second films, the main Award for Best Fiction Film, worth €10,000, went to the Russian-Estonian-French co-production The Man Who Surprised Everyone [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Natasha Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov. The movie world-premiered in Venice’s Orizzonti, where it garnered its lead, Natalya Kudryashova, the Best Actress Award.

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The jury, comprising filmmakers Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun (Turkey) and Ana Lungu (Romania), and founder of the Locarno Critics’ Week and former Visions du Réel director Jean Perret, also gave out two Special Mentions: one to Dutch director Rosanne Pel for Light as Feathers [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Rosanne Pel
scheda film] and another to actor Zejhun Demirov, for his phenomenal turn in Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay's Berlinale prizewinner Oray [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
scheda film] (Germany).

Thomas Heise's monumental 218-minute documentary Heimat Is a Space in Time [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] continued its awards run, following a triumph at Visions du Réel, scooping the Crossing Europe Social Awareness Award for Best Documentary, worth €5,000. The jury, consisting of festival programmers and curators Ralph Eue (DOK Leipzig), Djamila Grandits (CineCollective Vienna) and Oksana Sarkisova (Verzio International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival Budapest), handed out Special Mentions to Nebojša Slijepčević's Srbenka [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nebojša Slijepčević
scheda film] (Croatia) and Anna Eborn's Transnistra [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Sweden/Denmark/Belgium).

In the newly established YAAAS! Competition, aimed at and curated by young people, the Youth Jury awarded the €2,000 prize to Consequences [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Darko Štante
intervista: Timon Sturbej
scheda film] by Slovenia's Darko Štante. Finally, the Audience Award, worth €1,000, went to Nadejda Koseva's Irina [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Martina Apostolova
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Here is the full list of Crossing Europe Film Festival Linz award winners:

Competition – Fiction

Best Fiction Film
The Man Who Surprised Everyone [+leggi anche:
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Special Mentions
Light as Feathers [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Rosanne Pel
scheda film] - Rosanne Pel (Netherlands) 
Zejhun Demirov for his role in Oray [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
scheda film] (Germany)

Competition – Documentary

Social Awareness Award – Best Documentary
Heimat Is a Space in Time [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Thomas Heise (Germany/Austria) 
Special Mentions
Srbenka [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Nebojša Slijepčević
scheda film] - Nebojša Slijepčević (Croatia)
Transnistra [+leggi anche:
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trailer
scheda film] - Anna Eborn (Sweden/Denmark/Belgium)

YAAAS! Competition Jury Award
Consequences [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Darko Štante
intervista: Timon Sturbej
scheda film] - Darko Štante (Slovenia/Austria) 

Audience Award
Irina [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Martina Apostolova
scheda film] - Nadejda Koseva (Bulgaria)

Competition – Local Artist

Money Prize (€5,000)
Movements of a Nearby Mountain [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Sebastian Brameshuber
scheda film] - Sebastian Brameshuber (Austria/France) 

Material Prize (post-production services from The Grand Post, worth €2,000)
Fleischwochen - Joachim Iseni (Austria) 

Innovative Award – Local Artist
Animistica - Nikki Schuster (Austria/Mexico/Germany) 

Creative Region Music Video Award
Fahrvergnügen by Chris Imler - Dagmar Schürrer (Austria)