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Jury statement:
HOLLYWOODGATE is the portrait of two Taliban military men, the head of the Taliban airforce and a lieutenant. The director Ibrahim Nash’at flew into Afghanistan risking his life two days after the US it’s allies evacuated the country. In succeeding to win the trust of his two main subjects and following them around for one year, he exposes a shocking world that is otherwise inaccessible. As an audience it is a privilege to become first hand witnesses to the process of the Taliban establishing their regime. Despite the restrictions placed upon him Ibrahim Nash’at, also manages to inform us about the world he wasn’t allowed to catch on camera and what this regime means to the whole country, especially women and girls.

Special Mention:
LAISSEZ-MOI by Maxime Rappaz

Jury:
Malte Grunert (jury president) / producer / Germany
Gabriella Tana / producer / Great Britain
Katrin Renz / producer / Germany
Heike Parplies / film editor / Belgium
Sven Schelker / actor / Switzerland

Feature Film Competition – HESITATION WOUND by Selman Nacar
Feature films from around the globe compete in this category for the Golden Eye. HESITATION WOUND by Selman is the ZFF 2019 winner. 

Jury statement:
"The Film is set in Turkey. Moral issues are a frequent underlying theme in many films but the dilemma facing the main character in this film, a female lawyer, is really strongly felt here. The actor Tülin Özen is wonderful as the lawyer. We loved the strength of her character dealing with weary home and family issues as well as with work ethics in this patriarchal society. It is wonderful to observe, and it feels realistic. Her last minute attempt to bribe the judge with her mother’s organs makes her very human even though it is of course not correct. We applaud the hint of criticism of the Turkish religious society that we feel is well expressed and done with humour. It’s a film that stayed with the majority of the jury throughout the festival, and even though it was a fight with 2 other contenders, it shone thru to become our favorite film screened at the festival. Selman Nacar, thank you so much for this delicious film you gave us; the film making, the acting and the sets are all wonderful and worthy of mentioning. Hopefully we see more films from your hand.”

Special Mention:
LA RAVISSEMENT by Iris Kaltenbäck and STOLEN by Karan Tejpal

Jury:
Anton Corbijn (jury president) / director & photographer / Netherlands
Finola Dwyer / producer / New Zealand
Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre / director / France
Juho Kuosmanen / director & screenwriter / Finland
Bryce Nielsen / producer & VFX consultant / New Zealand

Documentary Film Competition – IN THE REARVIEW by Maciek Hamela
14 eye-opening films compete in the Documentary Film Competition for the Golden Eye. This year's winner is IN THE REARVIEW by Maciek Hamela. 

Jury statement:
The jury chose a film that, using a minimalistic and immersive style, bears witness to the unbridled excesses of war. A prosaic world, underscored by catastrophe, is expressed through cinematic emotion, without ever becoming overly sentimental.

Special Mention:
QUEENDOM by Agniia Galdanova

Jury:
Feras Fayyad (jury president) / director, producer & author / Syria
Monica Lazurean-Gorgan / producer & documentary filmmaker / Romania
Claudio Cea / film editor & producer / Switzerland, Italy
Crystal Moselle / director / USA
Shaunak Sen / filmmaker & film scholar / India