Diagonale 2025: Prize winners show how documentaries move!

Diagonale 2025: Prize winners show how documentaries move!

On March 29, 2025, the Franz Grabner Prize, which was awarded for the eighth time, took place at the Diagonale in Graz. Lisa-Marie Gotsche was honored for her documentary “Reclaim – The Fight for Democracy on TikTok”. The jury praised the film for its convincing insights into the digital world and its counterattack on right-wing Internet propagandists. “Reclaim” has been described as accessible to those who don’t like social media and addresses the influence of platforms such as TikTok on young people as well as the movements of extremist parties.

In the cinema documentary category, Maria Lisa Pichler and Lukas Schöffel received the prize for “Mâine Mă Duc – Tomorrow I Leave”. This film addresses the differences between “poor” and “rich” and tells the life story of the Romanian nurse Maria, avoiding sentimentality and not wanting to lecture the audience. The jury appreciated the special intimacy created by the sound recording and enabled close contact with the protagonists.

Jury statements and nominations

In addition to the two award winners, other ambitious films were also nominated for the award. In the cinema documentary category, nominations included “Favoriten” by Ruth Beckermann and “24 Hours” by Harald Friedl, while in the television documentary/TV series/web format category, “Karl Kraus – The Power of Words” by Franz Gruber and Susanne Pleisnitzer and “Forbidden Desire – Milestones of Queer History” by Fritz Kalteis were nominated.

The speech, given by the writer Esther Kinsky, dealt with the flood of images in today's world and the difficulties of finding meaning in this flood of information. The prize, which is endowed with 5,000 euros each, was donated by the Association of Austrian Film Producers (AAFP) and the ORF. The prize money is intended for the development of follow-up projects by the award-winning filmmakers. The aim of the prize is to support Austrian documentaries that critically address socially relevant issues.

The context of the diagonal

The Diagonale is an important Austrian film festival that emphasizes dialogue and mindfulness in art. This year's event opened under the new direction of Dominik Kamalzadeh and Claudia Slanar. The opening evening in the Helmut List Hall attracted numerous cultural representatives, including State Secretary Andrea Mayer and Mayor Elke Kahr. Another highlight of the evening was the awarding of Lukas Miko with the Grand Diagonale Acting Prize for exceptional contributions to Austrian film culture.

Overall, the Diagonale shows the commitment to high-quality documentaries and promotes the examination of current social contradictions. The event also reflects the challenges of artistic freedom in current political times and aims to include diverse voices. The Little Newspaper and OTS reported comprehensively on the events during Hedi Grager underlined the opening of the festival and highlighted the diversity of the films shown.