We are happy to announce this year’s jury and to invite you to our awards ceremony on 7. May.
In the context of the Europe day we are welcoming you on 7. May from 6 pm for our awards ceremony in the Filmwerkstatt Düsseldorf. There we will screen selected videos from this year’s submission and patterning initiatives, talk to the jury and announce this year’s winner. The entire event will also be streamed live on this website.
With close to a hundred artists, creators and filmmakers submitting their videos, and the with festival approaching, the jury is now starting the work. Choosing from a shortlist of 16 videos, the following people are tasked with finding the best videos of the upfront! Award Vol. 2.
Univ. Prof. Dr
Robin Curtis
Robin Curtis holds the Chair in Media and Cultural Studies at the Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf. From 2017 to 2021 the Chair in Media and Cultural Studies at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg. Born in Toronto. Filmmaker, Curator and Media Scholar
Maximilian Klemens Sänger
Maximilian Klemens Sänger is an artist and filmmaker. He studied theatre, film and media studies at the University of Vienna before continuing his studies at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf under Christopher Williams. Since 2020, he is specialising in screenwriting and directing at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne. He lives and works in Düsseldorf.
Last year’s Winners
After winning first and second prize in the first instalment of the upfront! Award Milena Piccioni and Medeleina Kay are back. This time they are the ones talking about the submitted videos and ultimately choosing the ones that are awarded.
Milena Piccioni was born in Tarquinia, Italy, in 2001. She is frequenting the second year of Video Design and Filmmaking at the “Istituto Europeo di Design” (IED) in Rome. She is very active in authoring video and videoclips and her highest expectation is to become a movie director.
Madeleina Kay is an artist, writer and award-winning activist; ‘Young European of the Year’ 2018 and recipient of the EU Charlemagne Youth Prize in 2020. She currently works as a social media campaigner for the Media Diversity Institute and as a Freelance Communications Producer for Axis.
