With expert documentary filmmaker Hamid Sardar as the film’s director, the topic of the last Mongolian nomadic peoples has found a highly skilled master. Having accompanied these great people, who continue to practise their ancestral lifestyle and tradition despite the immense influence of modern civilisation. In extraordinary images, he shows their spirit and physical characteristics in their daily activities within the context of their environment. He succeeds in emotionally involving and touching every viewer in the vastness and depth of a partly re-enacted but by no means fictional story. A film made under sometimes most arduous conditions and which the jury unanimously agreed to award.

- Jury Statement

Climbing extreme rock faces like the Eiger North Face – a notoriously difficult route – is one thing; documenting them so masterfully on film is quite another. This film’s outstanding dramaturgy achieves both while particularly highlighting the achievements of all those involved.

- Jury Statement

To capture an extraordinary relationship between a human and an animal that has developed over many years on film is a special challenge. Even more so, when the encounters take place entirely in the depths of the seas. Documenting the largest marine mammals communicating with a diver would seem all but impossible from a cinematic and dramaturgical perspective. Yet, with enormous effort, the team has succeeded in bringing these amazing, emotional moments to the screen for us.

- Jury Statement

This scripted non-verbal story tells of an extraordinary adventure on skis and emphasises the high art of this sport with sensational dramaturgy and camera work. The result is a great balance of these elements, with both protagonist and director demonstrating the highest level of professionalism.

- Jury Statement

The journey of the two Argentinian brothers Azulay along the coast of the African continent occupies a special position among this year’s contributions in terms of both its cinematography and its narrative. The way in which they incorporate and give prominence to the different countries, their cultures and their people is nothing short of masterful storytelling. It would be hard to make up this intensity of coincidences and incidents, let alone to “script” a story with the level of authenticity the filmmakers have achieved here.

- Jury Statement

In Werner Herzog, the two volcanologists’ legacy has found a worthy narrator. With often opulent images interwoven with scenes of devastation, the film draws a dramaturgical thread through the tragic story of this extraordinary couple. Both footage and spoken word get under the viewer’s skin with an intensity that few documentaries achieve.

- Jury Statement