Minister of Fine Arts Promotion Prize - National Competition (Sponsor: Saxon Ministry of Science and the Fine Arts)

			ICH BIN'S HELMUT by Nicolas Steiner. What remains of a life when you remove the burdens of everyday existence? This is what the director shows in his film. Impressive, consistent and always surprising, he deconstructs the world of his protagonists. Without squinting at the marketability of his piece, he convinces with his unconventional filmic approach for which we would like to show our support with the Promotional Prize.

Golden Horseman Animated Film – International Competition

			PARADE by Pierre-Emmanuel Lyet. A simple narrative told with simple tools. True colours and simple shapes come together in a minimal style to tackle an interesting and engaging subject, creating a world of seen and unseen elements that demands the audience to connect and use their imagination in order to fully understand and grasp the story. Clever, unfussy, effortless work from a first time director that shows great maturity and vision.

Golden Horseman Animated Film - National Competition (Sponsor: German Institute for Animated Film)

			LUMO by Antje Heyn. The film deals with the process of drawing an animated film, of animating, of bringing a figure alive, of a scene. The creation of the filmic illusion, revealing the thoughts and tales with just a pen as only an animated film can, far removed from expensive equipment and dramatic composition. Without great gestures, charming and moving, with a fine sense of humour and yet precisely observed, finely balanced and to the point. Every movement is right, not a single line too many or too few. The devastatingly simple is so hard to make.

Golden Horseman Short Fiction Film – International Competition

			MOJA BIEDNA GLOWA by Adrian Panek. A funeral changes the lives of a father and his son in a radical way. The father breaks down and the son has to take responsibility for both of them. The director and screenwriter of this extraordinary film knows his medium very well. From the first moment the film convinces with a precise camera and directing. Every small gesture emerges in a existential drama, but not without ironic moments. We enjoyed every second of the movie which would surely be appreciated by Kristof Kieslowski.

Golden Horseman Short Fiction Film - National Competition

			VATERTAG by Olaf Held. Not only does the film tell an episode from the life of a child from a separation, but also the enrapturing poetic story of a teddybear linked to this situation. The film pleasantly sets itself apart from those productions aimed at mass consumption, striving to totally monopolise the viewer.

ARTE Short Film Prize (Sponsor: ARTE) &  Golden Horsman of the Audience (Sponsor:  Sächsische Zeitung) - International Competition

			CROSSING by Silvana Aguirre Zegarra. The winning film is an enchanting short story about first love. Narrated sensitively and intelligently, the half blind boy and the charming funny girl use simple glances and gestures to arouse the viewers' feelings. The talented young actors in this film have little dialogue with "being able to see" and "being seen" accorded the main roles here as the camera tenderly follows their first encounter. Seeing "love does not make you blind" symbolised in such a way, we are delighted to award this year's ARTE Short Film Prize to this film and congratulate the director and her team.

Golden Horsman of the Audience  - National Competition (Sponsor: MDR Public Broadcaster)

		RUMMEL von Benjamin Teske.

Golden Horseman Best Sound(scape) Award  - International & National Competition (Sponsor: Hellerau European Centre of the Arts)

			TUESDAY by Shirley Petchprapa. The soundtrack of the film permits us to participate in a gloomily oppressive way in the inner life of the protagonists and consistently pursues this approach to the very end.

			MR. FOLEY by Mike Ahern & Enda Loughman. The film draws its humour from the sound design which is integrated into the events unfolding, thus turning itself into the subject of the film.

Drematrix-Promotionprize - National Competition (Sponsor: Organic Motion & Drematrix)

			EGOSTONIC  by Xenia Lesniewski. With its convincing design and structure, the filmmaker succeeds in the artistic presentation of the ego destruction that she refers to in the title. Connecting this joy of the experimental and radicalism with state-of-the-art technology contains the possibility of discovering new creative ways in the motion capture field and   adopting interesting positions. For this reason we would like to award the Drematrix Prize to this film.

Short Film Award of the German Critics 2009

			HOMEGAME by Bogdana Vera Lorenz. A man who is supposed to be a role model goes out for fights in his free time. For fun, for a kick. This remarkable short film confronts us with an unpleasant, sinister phenomenon: Brutality for its own sake – violence that the normal socio-critical explanatory patterns are unable to grasp. Cold and distanced, yet raw and powerful, the film forces the viewer out from under his cover because it does not ask where violence comes from but rather where it is heading. It attacks, remains ambivalent – and that with a lead actor who really hits the mark as an ethics teacher and a hooligan thanks to his inscrutability.

Special Mentions - National Competition

			SCHATTENSPRUNG by Olivia Milz. A surreal, symbolic film lovingly adapted to the last detail with an impressively dense atmosphere.

			PESCHI UND POSCHI by Jens Rosemann und Max Rademann. Bucking the trend of global understanding and usability, a film that stands up for regional culture in a mercilessly consistent, naive and heartfelt way, and one that draws the great expanse of the world into the story at the same time.

Special Mentions - International Competition

			PHOTOGRAPH OF JESUS by Laurie Hill. A film we of the jury enjoyed immediately from the first viewing with its inspired concept and monumental research and visualisation. It entices the viewer into a lost world of images and creates a landscape both humorous and captivating.

			M by Felix Dufour-Laperriere. Impressively building upon very small details, layering animations upon animations in a pulsing, rhythmic almost industrial cacophony, this film hides a soft romantic concept at its heart. We like to commend this film particularly and its director for both the endeavour visually and his uncanny collaboration with the composer.

			KIDS MIGHT FLY by Alex Taylor. This film provides an insight into today's life and the thoughts of kids in East London in a charming and authentic way without judging them.

			VIVRE ENCORE UN PEU by David Lambert. The film begins with two men in a bed. Not everybody's taste, we thought. But we were wrong. With a great sense of the right timing and wonderful acting, this film confronts us with a sudden loss. We wish to see more films from this highly talented director.