Jury Statement:
Exclusive insight at the Forum in Davos. The camera seems to have almost unrestricted access in front and behind the scenes without losing its critical point of view. This gives an interesting, sometimes almost voyeuristic insight into the world of the people pulling the strings. The film touches many layers both in the present as in the past and the future; edited in a powerful, convincing way. A strong, urgent and above all alarming film.

Jury Statement:
The film portrays in a compelling and involving way the lives of four kids that are in gender transition. The four stories all touch different topics and themes; this challenges the viewer to think about the complexity of the subject. The film shows in a convincing way why it is important for the teenagers to be recognized and understood.

Director Statement:
We are grateful and honored to be recognized by Signos da Noite. Transkids brings to the front for the first time in Israel, four brave and unique families dealing with the transformation and transition of their children allowing the viewer to have an intimate and compassionate look at the challenges behind unconditional love. The four transgender youth and their families open their lives and hearts in their quest for understanding. We are happy to be able to bring their stories to the international audience, stressing once more that love and acceptance know no borders.
Best, Mariel and the Medalia Team

Jury Statement:
A film about a film about films. A very clever and intimate video-essay that shows an uncomfortable problematic issue that director Chloé Galibert-Laîné does with great ease questioning new forms of cinema. Deep research along with elaborated editing results in an original and convincing piece.

Director Statement:
Watching the Pain of Others investigates an online community of women suffering from a mysterious skin disease called Morgellons, and reflects on the power that images have to heal and to harm. It was extremely important for me to find ways to represent these women without passing judgements or simplifying the challenges that they face as sufferers from an ailment that is not recognized by institutional medicine; I am therefore honored to receive for this film the Night Award, which celebrates films that "represent reality [while] avoiding stereotypes of representation and simple conclusions".

Jury Statement:
The prohibition of music - and much more the Metal genre - in Afghanistan leaves no choice to a group of passionate musicians as to go underground and still risk even their lives. A dedicated and brave documentary that results in an ode to people who resist oppression. A clear message that music should be a basic human right.

Jury Statement:
The jury was impressed by the risks and effort the director has taken to film in a country where freedom of the press is being suppressed and criticism on the government can have major consequences. There is a strong bond of trust between the director and the people that are filmed; this shows a lot of dedication and sensitivity.

Jury Statement:
The sociological, philosophical and political discussion of the existence of a new occupation such as the internet moderators is addressed in a very interesting and profound way. The editing and the different perspectives shown in the film, not only present a complex debate about recent history, but also in a critical and complex way about the actual political and moral questions, what should be online or not.

Director Statement:
Thank you very much for this award. To receive THE SPECIAL JURY AWARD in the Documentary Section is a great honor for us. Getting this recognition means a lot to us and it reinforces us in how important the subject of our film is.
Because that was our goal, to shake up the audience, to trigger a debate with the film, which may also be continued outside of the movie theaters and film festivals. Most of the billions of people in the world who use social media don’t have any clue who does the clean-up-work for them. Most of us take it for granted we don’t have to see videos of beheadings, rape or torture in our newsfeeds. We don’t know there are thousands of young workers in the developing world who sacrifice themselves in order to keep us “safe” and provide us with a “healthy environment” when we go online. At the same time hundreds of thousands of newsworthy pictures and videos disappear every single day without our notice. A lot of individuals as well as whole groups of our societies are secretely silenced with huge effects on our democracy. If our film manages to create a little bit more awareness for these important topics, we are very happy.
We are honored to receive the award. First and foremost, this prize belongs to our protagonists, who had the courage to share their stories with us. We will forward the message to the workers right away. The workers will be very happy about it. Thanks again.
Short call to action: Support the BPO Industry Employees Network from Manila advocating the rights of Filipino clickworkers and onlinecensorship.org fighting for digital rights.