winners JFBB 2024

Gershon-Klein Feature Film Award
Endowed with prize money in the amount of 3,000 euros
Donated by Madeleine Budde and Jacqueline Hopp
goes to the film SÜDSEE by Henrika Kull (DE 2023)

Jury statement:
The movie is like a nap in the Israeli sun.
It is an erotic relationship between an Israeli and a German. It sizzles as only Israelis and Germans can sizzle.
SÜDSEE is convincing in its aesthetics, innovative without being pretentious. A beautiful flirtation - even when bombs are falling from the blue sky.

The jury dedicates an honorable mention to
A GOOD JEWISH BOY (Noé Debré, FR 2024)

Jury statement:
A special mention goes to a movie about a Jewish community that disappears, a Jewish world that says goodbye. The movie made us laugh and cry.

Gershon Klein Documentary Film Award
Endowed with prize money in the amount of 3,000 euros
Sponsored by Madeleine Budde and Jacqueline Hopp
VISHNIAC by Laura Bialis (US 2023)

Jury statement:
The award-winning film depicts complex themes of historical relevance that resonate in our time and, like a spotlight, fragmentarily illuminates the history of the Vishniac family, stretching from interwar Eastern Europe through Germany to the post-war United States. He talks about the importance of memory and the preservation of images and archive material as witnesses to lost history. The movie is superbly made and leaves us with many questions.

An honorable mention from the documentary film jury goes to THE RETURN FROM THE OTHER PLANET (Assad Rapid, IL/DE 2023).

Jury statement:
The complex personality and legacy of Ka.tzetnik is illuminated from an original perspective.

The documentary film jury also awards the Prize for Intercultural Dialogue, which is endowed with 2,000 euros and donated by Potsdam entrepreneur Stephan Goericke. The prize goes to:
TELLING NONIE (Paz Schwartz, IL 2024)

Jury statement:
The film tells a personal story of forgiveness and reparation. It depicts an unlikely relationship between people who might consider themselves enemies, but who eventually enter into a calm and open dialog. With a special touch of Jewish humor, the film also speaks in an extraordinary way about the courage to remain true to oneself.

The Preis zur Förderung des filmischen Nachwuchses is awarded by the program department of the JFBB and is endowed with 2,000 euros, donated by Potsdam entrepreneur Stephan Goericke. The prize goes to:
Ido Tako, lead actor in the film THE VANISHING SOLDIER (IL 2023, dir: Dani Rosenberg)

Statement from the program collective:
Ido Tako convinced us in the role of 18-year-old Shlomi. With verve, he plays a young man who runs away from the war and quickly realizes that he is getting lost in a dead end from which he can no longer escape. Ido Tako carries this film with his acting, using body language and facial expressions in a compelling way, touching his audience sometimes with the finest gestures, sometimes with desperate movements. An all-encompassing, stirring performance that leaves no one cold and plays the extremely relevant subject of this film - the desperation and hunger for life of a conscript who does not want war - into the minds and hearts of his audience. We would like to see more of this talented actor on our screens.