Balbinka Korzeniowska, Julia Rae, Rosanna Arquette, Keke Palmer and Patrick Sharkey are among the 2022 winners

On 14 September 2022 Vienna Independent Film Festival culminated with the awards ceremony held in Vienna, Austria honoring the finest films in modern independent cinema.

Sports drama “Playing Through” by director Balbinka Korzeniowska took home the main awards, including the Grand Prix, Best Feature and Best Director prizes. Julia Rae won the Best Actress award for her role as golf player Babs Whatling.

“Playing Through” tells the fascinating true story of golf player Ann Gregory, who was a pioneering female athlete and civil rights advocate. Ann Gregory was the first African-American woman to play in a national championship of the United States Golf Association (USGA), competing in the 1956 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.

Best Musical Film winner “Big Boss” directed by and starring multi-talented Keke Palmer is a semi-biographical story about her life and career. The film features stunning song and dance numbers. Actress and singer Keke Palmer, well known for starring in Jordan Peele’s “Nope”, is one of the most popular modern stars in Hollywood.

Science-fiction romance “Futra Days” by Ryan David won the Best Actor (Brandon Sklenar) and Best Supporting Actress (Rosanna Arquette) awards. The film is about a man who is sent into the future and becomes romantically involved with his girlfriend from the future.

“Long Flat Balls “Broken Promises”, the third installment of the highest grossing Norwegian comedy franchise directed by Harald Zwart, received the recognition for the Best Original Film Score. The music was composed by Zach Robinson.

The Best Documentary Film was awarded to “Ballymanus” by filmmakers from Ireland Patrick Sharkey and Séan Doupe. “Ballymanus” depicts the events which occured during the tragic disaster on 10 May 1943 at Ballymanus beach in rural Donegal, Ireland which led to 19 deaths. The film received great praise from the audience.

Best Short Film winner was Živa (The Death of the Goddess Živa), directed by Slovenian artist Nataša Stearns. The film featuring experimental filmmaking techniques was inspired by the Slovene national epic “The Baptism on Svica” by France Prešeren about Živa, a pagan goddess of love and prosperity. The film impressed the jury with its originality and spirituality.

Crowd pleaser short film “Hot Mess” by Evelyne Tollman won the Best Comedy award. The hilarious comedy is about a woman who moves from America to Vienna and about the challenges which she faces.

Austrian short film Change of Course by Andreas Ortner received the Honorary Mention for Social Impact. The film touched upon the sensitive issues regarding COVID-19 measures.

Winners were unveiled in 20 competitive categories, from best feature, comedy, musical and short film to best lead and supporting performances to best directing and writing.

Full Winners List

• Grand Prix — Playing Through – directed by Balbinka Korzeniowska
• Best Feature Film — Playing Through – directed by Balbinka Korzeniowska
• Best Director — Balbinka Korzeniowska – Playing Through
• Best Short Film — Živa (The Death of the Goddess Živa) – directed by Nataša Stearns
• Best Music video — Frozen Heart – directed by Nina Guseva
• Best Documentary Film — Ballymanus – directed by Patrick Sharkey, Séan Doupe
• Best Experimental Film — Blue Delusion – directed by Guan Fang
• Best Musical Film — Big Boss – directed by Keke Palmer
• Best Comedy Film — Hot Mess by Evelyne Tollman
• Best Animated Film — Me and My Winter Games-Perfect Holiday – directed by Haoling Lee, Ming Zhong, Zhe Zhang, Liwen Wang
• Best Actress — Julia Rae – Playing Through
• Best Actor — Brandon Sklenar – Futra Days
• Best Supporting Actress — Rosanna Arquette – Futra Days
• Best Film Score — Long Flat Balls “Broken Promises” – music by Zach Robinson
• Best Song — Molly’s Rainbow – by Katie Hardyman
• Best Cinematography — Other Side of the Mountain – directed by Markus Otz
• Best Screenplay — JIZO-Evangelist – written and directed by Tokoroten Nakamura
• Best Art Direction — The Violin and its Shadow – directed by Greg Babalas
• Best Unproduced Script — The Faerie Rings – written by Zina Brown
• Honorary Mention for Social Impact — Change of Course – directed by Andreas Ortner