Munich 2026

Filmfest München is Germany’s largest summer film event and the second most important film festival in the country. Founded in 1983, it celebrates both major international releases and the best in independent German cinema.

Motivation for the awarded film:
The FIPRESCI Jury was impressed by a film that transforms the ordinary into something quietly extraordinary. Embracing the tragedies, hopes, doubts, small joys, and unexpected gifts of everyday life, it weaves them into a compassionate portrait of contemporary society. Bringing together diverse experiences of cultural encounter, it captures both the loneliness and the generosity that coexist in our shared world. Its timeless, universal visual language, exquisite ensemble performances, and witty yet deeply humane dialogue create a cinematic experience that is at once surprising and utterly believable, moving effortlessly between different styles and moments. In a world marked by uncertainty and ambiguity, the film discovers small human miracles in the encounters between ‘beautiful souls.’

On 1 July, FIPRESCI hosted the panel discussion Film Criticism in the Age of AI – Will AI Replace Film Critics?

As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the media landscape, the discussion explored how AI is changing the work of film critics and whether it can serve as a professional tool or poses a challenge to originality, authorship, and critical thinking.

Speakers: Bettina Schuler (author, Germany), Joanna Orzechowska-Bonis (journalist, France), and Övgü Gökçe (film critic, Turkey).