The 22nd Provinziale in Eberswalde came to an end with an eventful award ceremony, which, as always in Eberswalde, had a few surprises in store from the festival team. The following films received awards:

The jury prize “Der Stachel” (The Sting) for the most successful examination of the problem of sustainability went to the Cuban-Spanish documentary AL OESTE, EN ZAPAT by David Bim. The jury, consisting of Tino Pompetzki, Silas Gronbach, and Sarah Sandring, summed up the film's existential question in a nutshell: “What do you really need in life?” They thanked the filmmaker “for this work, which leaves you absolutely speechless.”

Two audience awards were presented for each of the four competition categories – the “Rose” for the most emotionally moving film and the “Thistle” as the highest film criticism award. These are the winners of the audience awards:

Despite the eight-day structure of the film festival as a public festival (mainly with evening events), the Provinziale is increasingly becoming a meeting place for filmmakers. In addition to the regional “network workshop,” 20 filmmakers found their way to Eberswalde this year, got to know the city and its surroundings, and engaged in lively conversation with each other and with the audience. Once again, the film festival saw an increase in visitor numbers (to around 2,200 guests).

We are particularly pleased about the remarkable diversity of our audience; we are clearly succeeding in appealing to younger and older people as well as people who are new to the region. The special program was very well received, and youth film work is also beginning to have an impact on the festival's visibility and popularity.

We would like to thank Haus Schwärzetal for its wonderful hospitality and all our supporters for their financial and active involvement in this special festival.