Two Sets of Awards That Never Touch

Two families of awards, counted separately and announced together on 17 October in Berlin.

The first belongs to the audience. Six awards decided by the people who bought a seat and pressed play: the most-voted film in each of the four strands, the Audience Choice Top 10, and the Audience Reach Laurel — earned by any film watched by a hundred people or more. No jury touches these.

The second belongs to the jury. The 4U Grand Trophy for the film that best embodies Uncensored, Uncompromising, Unconventional, Unbound; and the honours in three groups — Vision, Craft, and Voices & Themes — among them Best First-Time Director, the Human Rights Award, and, new this edition, the LGBTQ+ Award for a film that widens how queer lives are seen on screen.

No audience ticket, and no number of tickets, moves a jury decision. The full list, and the rules, are at biuff.com/awards.