DOK.edit Award – presented by Adobe:

The nominees 2024

 

It has been true for a long time that the finished film is made at the editing table. Even though the work processes are now digitalised, editing remains one of the most central and critical phases in the making of any documentary film. To highlight the importance of editing in documentary film, an editing award will be presented for the third time at DOK.fest München 2024 with the DOK.edit Award – presented by Adobe. 

The award was developed in cooperation with Adobe, who are also the sponsors of the 5,000 euros award. Its aim is to shed light on the post-production of documentary films and to honour the work of editors. Films with outstanding editing work are nominated. The prize is awarded across all series.

 

We would like to thank our award donor and partner:

The nominees 2024

E.1027 – EILEEN GRAY AND THE HOUSE BY THE SEA
Switzerland 2024, Direction: Beatrice Minger, Editor: Gion-Reto Killias, 88 min., original version with English subtitles

The sound of the sea can be heard in the bedroom where the architect couple Eileen Gray and Jean Badovici, who built the house known as E.1027 on the Côte d’Azur, sleep. The director Beatrice Minger portrays an almost forgotten icon of modernity. Eileen Gray had to hold her own in the male-dominated avant-garde scene around Le Corbusier, who altered the building without her consent. 

 

MISTY – THE EROLL GARNER STORY
Switzerland/Germany/France 2023, Direction: Georges Gachot, Editors: Hansjörg Weissbrich, Stephan Krumbiegel, Vincent Pluss, 93 min., original version with English subtitles

Jazz pianist Erroll Garner grew up in Pittsburgh in the 1920s as the youngest of six children. He taught himself the piano from an early age. He never learned to read music but became famous for his virtuoso improvisations. The private life of this seemingly perpetually joyful musician was kept hidden, even from his family. MISTY – THE ERROLL GARNER STORY reveals the light and dark sides of this quiet genius.

 

MINA AND THE RADIO BANDITS
Norway 2024, Direction: Kari Anne Moe, Editor: Karsten Meinich, 110 min., original version with English subtitles

Mina runs a radio station with prison inmates – “Bandit Radio,” what else? Soon it becomes clear how hard it is to build relationships with people who have spent half their life in jail – especially those that go beyond the radio. Captivating. 

 

KIX
Hungary/Croatia/France 2024, Direction: Bálint Révész, Dávid Mikulán, Editors: Yaël Bitton, Károly Szalai, 90 min., original version with English subtitles

“It might look like we’re just playing. But this is no game, it is dead serious.” Nobody suspects how much truth lies in Sanyi’s statement when Dávid Mikulán embarks on 10 years of filming the young man. From his cramped flat, where his whole family shares a bedroom and there is no room to breathe, Sanyi escapes to the streets of Budapest with his friends. 

 

MALQUERIDAS
Chile/Germany 2023, Direction: Tana Gilbert, Editors: Javiera Velozo, Tana Gilbert, 75 min., original version with English subtitles

MALQUERIDAS tells the story of women living in prison in Chile while their children grow up outside. Through mobile phone videos – recorded in secret – and striking narration, their multiple voices are transformed into a dense dramaturgy. Tana Gilbert’s poignant feature-length debut allows unheard voices to speak through the simplest of means.

 

EINHUNDERTVIER
Germany 2023, Direction: Jonathan Schörnig, Editors: Jonathan Schörnig, Moritz Petzold, 93 min., original version with English subtitles

104 refugees, 80 minutes, 6 cameras shooting in parallel. This sea rescue in real-time unfolds over a gruellingly long period of time. Eventually all the refugees from the overloaded, rapidly deflating dinghy are on board the “Eleonore”. Meticulously documented and told entirely from the point of view of the rescue team, this film demonstrates the urgency of humanitarian operations in the Mediterranean. 

 

Jury of the DOK.edit Award – presented by Adobe 2024

We are pleased to introduce the jury that will select the winner of the DOK.edit Award – presented by Adobe 2024.

 

Award Ceremony

The DOK.edit Award – presented by Adobe will be presented at a festive award ceremony with film screening on Friday, 3 May at 8pm at HFF München.

Review
The winning film 2023: NON-ALIGNED: SCENES FROM THE LABUDOVIĆ REELS

The third DOK.edit Award – presented by Adobe goes to the editors Sylvie Gadmer and Mila Turajlić of the film NON-ALIGNED: SCENES FROM THE LABUDOVIĆ REELS (Montenegro/Serbia/France/Croatia/Qatar 2022, Direction: Mila Turajlić, 100 min.).

 

Jury statement

“NON-ALIGNED: SCENES FROM THE LABUDOVIĆ REELS is art of montage at its best. Sylvie Gadmer, the editor, intertwines the different levels of the film with an unpretentious elegance, a fact which makes the complexity and multi-layeredness of this cinematic cosmos seem light. In combination with the archive material the editing succeeds in making Stevan Labudović's visits to the historical locations of that time come alive, so that it seems as if one had been actually there. And last but not least, it is the director's voice that gives the film an additional depth with her personal thoughts and this leaves a long after-effect.”

Jury: Peter König (film editor), Sven Kulik (film editor) and Barbara Toennieshen (film editor)

 

The other nominees

Two other films from the DOK.fest München programme were nominated for the award, whose editing is particularly outstanding:

DEMON MINERAL
USA 2023, Direction: Hadley Austin, Editors: Timothy Fryette, Nyneve Laura Minnear, 88 min., original version with English subtitles

#RACEGIRL – DAS COMEBACK DER SOPHIA FLÖRSCH
Germany 2023, Direction: Sonia Otto, Editors: Finbarr Wilbrink, Karoline Schulz, 95 min., original version with English subtitles


The winning film 2022: DAUGHTERS

The second DOK.edit Award – presented by Adobe goes to the editors Åsa Mossberg and Line Schou of the film DAUGHTERS (Sweden/Denmark 2022, Direction: Jenifer Malmqvist, 90 min.).

 

Jury statement

"The editing of the film takes us by the hand interweaving the different periods of time, leaving gaps and even allowing for speechlessness", the jury states. "Åsa Mossberg and Line Schou have succeeded in interweaving the different phases of processing this painful experience into a flowing whole. (...) The film editing brings us to these traumatic memories with great respect and sensitivity and takes us along this journey for the duration of the film, even if the process will remain a lifelong one."

 

The other nominees

Two other films from the DOK.fest München programme were nominated for the award, whose editing is particularly outstanding:

SOLDAT AHMET
Austria 2021, Direction: Jannis Lenz, Editors: Jannis Lenz, Roland Stöttinger, Nooran Talebi, 76 min.

ULTRAVIOLETTE AND THE BLOOD-SPITTERS GANG
France 2021, Direction: Robin Hunzinger, Editor: Benoît Quinon, 74 min.

 

The winning film 2021: NEMESIS

In its first edition the DOK.edit Award – presented by Adobe goes to editors David Charap and Thomas Imbach for their work on NEMESIS (Switzerland 2020, Direction: Thomas Imbach, 132 min.)

 

Jury statement

"It was the overall integrity and the composition of the story that convinced us", said the jury in their statement. "The quality of the film comes very much from a great editing job that turns a local and personal story into a universal one. It is also through the editing that a number of narrative layers are brought together brilliantly. By re-arranging reality, the film not only convinced the jury through the craft of editing but the art of editing."

 

Jury 2021

Peter Indergand (cinematographer)
Mary Stephen (film editor)
Ruken Tekes (human rights expert, filmmaker)

 

The other nominees

Two other films from the DOK.fest München @home programme were nominated for the award, whose editing is particularly outstanding:

PRESIDENT
Denmark/Norway 2021, Direction: Camilla Nielsson, Editing: Jeppe Bødskov, 130 min.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SURVIVAL
Georgia/Germany 2021, Direction: Yana Ugrekhelidze, Editing: Agata Wozniak, 73 min.

 

A three-member international jury discussed the films in public sessions.
The editors of the nominated films will also provide insights into their work.
The winning film was announced at an online award ceremony.