Videostatement by Julia Crescitelli

24. MuVi Preis 2022

Flourish (Lotic) - Julia Crescitelli

Julia Crescitelli’s Flourish blurs the lines between what is perceived as grotesque and beautiful. Soundtracked by Lotic’s abrasive, metallic productions in HD, the film portrays body horror within the context of the natural world. Each frame flashes with intention and elicits a very physical response from its viewers, who are watching everyday acts of vanity and nature converge at breakneck speed. It’s a vivid work that finds beauty within ugliness, and ugliness within beauty.

Jury: Rachel Grace Almeida, Karan Suri Talwar, Raphael Smarzoch

Videostatement by UWE

23. MuVi Preis 2021

Junge Milliardäre (UWE) - UWE

Junge Milliardäre by UWE is an elegant work that smashes, no holds barred, into our supposedly safe routines of perception and classification. We are shown a wobbly deepfake of Elon Mask singing seductively to himself, with ease and routine, on a kind of stage in front of a mirror; a multifaceted game with vanity, identity, longing and thus, of course, pop par excellence. In connection with the music and song, multiple cracks and shifts in the meaning of the images are generated and the question arises as to who is the author here and who is the singer. The obvious glitches, the brittleness of the deepfake make it even more beautiful: the viewer is first fascinated and then increasingly insecure. With great astuteness, in the guise of technical skill, all other filmic means shine through in this enchanting work: collage, suspense, the loving eye, wit and perhaps even a little horror. A brilliant work that’s grounded as firmly in the history of cinema and the world as it is pointing towards the future.

Jury: Jan Bonny, Annekathrin Kohout, Babeth Mondini-VanLoo

Videostatement by Andreas Reihse, Zaza Rusadze

22. MuVi Preis 2020

Eurydike (Kreidler) - Andreas Reihse, Zaza Rusadze

In Greek mythology the poet Orpheus accidently kills his wife Eurydike after having freed her from Hades. Or perhaps it was no accident, as Klaus Theweleit assumes in his book "Male Fantasies"? Does the (male) artist need to bury his (female) muse to be creative? Eurydike abstractly addresses the ancient topic by rhythmically editing associative images to Kreidler's music. To appreciate the effort of transferring a very complex topic into the aesthetics of a 4-minute music video, the MuVi jury decided to award this year's first prize to Eurydike by Zaza Rusadze and Andreas Reihse.

Jury: Max Dax, Adam Harper, Agnese Logina

Videostatement by Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau/Aérea Negrot

21. MuVi Preis 2019

Trying to Forget You (Aérea Negrot) - Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau/Aérea Negrot

We were struck by the video's juxtaposition of a proclamation that "we will not be erased" with the expression of "just trying to forget", which conveys an autonomy around memory that speaks to its greater sense of empowerment, all on display here with confrontational energy and beauty alike.

Jury: Eric D. Clark, Liz Pelly, Jan Ehlen

Videostatement by Oliver Pietsch

20. MuVi Preis 2018

Limerence (Yves Tumor) - Oliver Pietsch

For us there were two clear winners in this varied and striking short list of music videos, a selection that was a pleasure to watch, think about and discuss together. Oliver Pietsch’s video for Yves Tumor’s Limerence received the maximum number of points from all three jurors. The concept immediately grabs the viewer’s attention and the immaculate execution holds it, at once rapturing and troubling the eye. The supercut of found cinematic or video material is not a new genre - watching Limerence, some will think of Christian Marclay’s The Clock for instance– but the triptych structure and the choice of material here makes the work fresh and original. Shower scenes in movies take us to cinema’s heart of strangeness – like the sex scene, there is a performance of intimacy, private moments shown that in normal life are screened off from general view. We delectate over the bodies of stars those familiar strangers. ‘Limerence’ is an obscure term for a state of infatuation that involves obsessive thoughts and fantasies – as a system the movies are in the business (literally) of inciting limerence in the public, and the same could be said about mainstream pop music With some of the scenes used here either the prequel to violence against women – as with Psycho – or suggestive of the aftermath of female-trauma, there is a subtle feminist subtext to the work that resonates with the present moment, But there are other elements to the montage that are idyllic or amusing or simply mysterious. The oversaturation of these images of vulnerability and exposure, raining down on our gaze like the drops of water from a showerhead, creates an effect that eerily blends the erotic, the disturbing, the touching and the invasive. Although the video could stand on its own as a provocative artwork, the gorgeousness of the image-flow complements Yves Tumor’s track perfectly.

Jury: DJ Hell, Simon Reynolds, Marisa Olson

Videostatement by Christoph Girardet

19. MuVi Preis 2017

Second Chance Man (Tindersticks) - Christoph Girardet

An un-nostalgic use of found footage, this film does not employ overused imagery yet still manages to be iconic. The video is subtle, beautiful and sympathetic to the song that it accompanies. This is a film that quietly demands repeat viewings – on our second watch we knew that Second Chance Man, which gives a second life to archive footage, heartily deserves first prize in this competition.

Jury: Ananda Pellerin, Daniel Kothenschulte, Steffie Van Cauter

18. MuVi Preis 2016

All Day (Drunken Masters ft. Tropkillaz) - Andreas Hofstetter

The video to which we want to award the First Prize is one that the jury has watched half a dozen times by now – and would be happy to watch another dozen times, as there are so many ideas and details to be found in All Day by Andreas Hofstetter for Drunken Masters feat. Tropkillaz. Guided by an amazing protagonist we dream our way into a visual world by which we are overpowered and repelled but also enormously entertained (in other words, much like the Internet itself). All this is played out on the highest possible level of quality – in terms of technology as well as the precision with which musical impulses are taken up and translated into visuals. A quality which, by the way, we missed in many other videos. All Day keeps piling up music and images, building up to an overkill that we enjoyed immensely.

Jury: Frank Dommert, Hannah Pilarczyk, Michael Fakesch

Videostatement by Andreas Hofstetter

Videostatment by Klaus Lemke

17. MuVi Preis 2015

Lost and Found (Mouse on Mars & Eric D. Clark) - Klaus Lemke

For the 2,000 Euro prize we have chosen Lost and Found by Mouse On Mars and Eric D Clark, directed by Klaus Lemke. We felt that it navigated many of the long running and entrenched problems of the music video format with ease, staying intelligent and keeping tongue firmly in cheek. Unfortunately Lemke cannot be here tonight to accept the award as he is currently in Munich shooting his next film, "The UntruthfulUnderpants".

Jury: Nathan Budzinski, Antonin De Bemels, Sandra Trostel

Videostatement by Ted Gaier/Katharina Duve/Timo Schierhorn

16. MuVi Preis 2014

Der Investor (Die Goldenen Zitronen) - Ted Gaier/Katharina Duve/Timo Schierhorn

Platform as a catwalk takes us to interpreting of urban marketing and consumer society critics and you can enjoy it without recognizing the faces and knowing the background story. However, the use of well-known influential bohemians from the German art scene adds a new layer and an aspect of nowness which can be glimpsed in other European cities as well. The video is perfectly boosting the band image as a provocateur in social and political issues. It is wonderful to award an artwork which is so well presenting the band, which, in the end of the day, is the most important function of a music video.

Jury: Frank Dommert, Hannah Pilarczyk, Michael Fakesch

Videostatement by Heinz Emigholz

15. MuVi Preis 2013

Moth Race (Kreidler) - Heinz Emigholz

Moth Race by Heinz Emigholz takes us to putative faraway places, showing us in the uniformity of transit spaces that the absurd is lurking right behind the corners of the modern age.

Jury: Isabelle Gaudefroy, Michel Klöfkorn, Christian Höller

Statement by Zeljko Vidovic

15. MuVi Preis 2013

Palimpsest (Smog) - Zeljko Vidovic

Palimpsest finally, goes astray in a positive sense and takes the risk of getting lost in the border regions between death and reanimation. The Turin Shroud combined with disturbing animation and accompanied by scatterings of music.

Jury: Isabelle Gaudefroy, Michel Klöfkorn, Christian Höller

Videostatement by Heike Aumüller

15. MuVi Preis 2013

Therapeutikon (The Schwarzenbach) - Heike Aumüller

Therapeutikon has its fingers on the pulse of our age insofar as the state of being locked into existing conditions – and not just that of the "loonies" referred to in the lyrics – is boiled down to its visual and musical essentials. Beckett and Boy George in a de-furnished family apartment.

Jury: Isabelle Gaudefroy, Michel Klöfkorn, Christian Höller

No Statment by Carsten Nicolai

14. MuVi Preis 2012

uni acronym (alva noto ft. Anne-James Chaton) - Carsten Nicolai

The jury's decision was unanimous and quick. It was obvious: perfect interplay of music and image; a simple idea, brilliantly executed.

Jury: Ralph H. Christoph, Daniel Miller, Pleix

No Statement by Daniel Franke

13. MuVi Preis 2011

One Minute Soundsculpture (Ryoji Ikeda) - Daniel Franke

You couldn't make a more successful video clip than Daniel Franke's interpretation of Ryoji Ikeda's piece One Minute Soundsculpture. Once you have seen this film, you will never be able to listen to the track again without seeing those video images in your mind. Franke illustrates a short piece of electroacoustic music – a sequence of static noise and test sounds – with the picture of an empty, square gallery space. Abstract forms emerge out of nothing to mutate into animated lines, which in turn mutate into an abstract creature that grows, floats and moves to the rhythm of the sounds. The sound sculpture turns into a visual sculpture, cause and effect merge until sound and image become indistinguishable. The aesthetic principle of the video clip – the perfect fusion of image and sound – is taken to a supreme level of perfection; and he does it with the most brilliant pictures we have seen in a long time.

Jury: Jens Balzer, Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir, Phoenix Perry

Videostatement by Sönke Held

12. MuVi Preis 2010

Lightning Strikes (Felix Kubin) - Sönke Held

The first prize goes, almost without discussion, to Sönke Held for Lightning Strikes. More than any of the other selected works, this video manages to create its own, self-contained world. We also applaud its stylistically confident use of minimal digital technology, and the way it presents Felix Kubin as a character – a cross between Klaus Nomi and expressionist film star.

Jury: Lillevän, Carine le Malet, Eric Pfeil

No Statement by Thomas Köner

11. MuVi Preis 2009

Pasajeros peregrinos pilotos (Porter Ricks) - Thomas Köner

Because we were amazed by the video’s image editing principle which is as simple as it is plausible. The classic view from a window down to a square reveals the pedestrians’ movements as ornaments, creates a visual narrative and effortlessly links it to the phenomenon that social ornaments in our control-obsessed society allow intimate conclusions about the individual.

Jury: Elke Buhr, Diedrich Diederichsen, Herbert Fritsch

Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, a film, theater, concert in stereo total. directed by Francoise Cactus, performed 2003 at Columbiafritzhalle Berlin. Produced by Sim Gil (video, editing) and Stereo Total ("Heroes" version, audio) and some restless collaborators. Europacenter 2003. Berlin.

10. MuVi Preis 2008

Ich bin der Stricherjunge (Stereo Total) - Simone Gilges (2007, 2')

It has the essence of pop, it's showing friends, fashion and fun, it's spontaneous, improvised, authentic, do it yourself and shows good production values. The visual aesthetics are connected in a good way to the lo-fi sound of the song. The director seems part of the scene, at least he shares the style-codes of the band. The best stuff comes from something that you are passionate about. It's a document of the Berlin punk scene.

Jury: Libby Durdy, Jan Jelinek, Roel Wouters

Videostatement by Oliver Pietsch

9. MuVi Preis 2007

Domin, libra nos (The Space Lady) - Oliver Pietsch (2006, 4')

The video Domin, libra nos by Oliver Pietsch we chose as the winner because it is conceptually pure. Impactful. It illustrates that music video is a grown-up art form. It can be edgy and brutal, not just entertaining and fun.

Jury: Tina Funk, Matt Hanson, Anne Hilde Neset

No Statement by Corine Stübi

8. MuVi Preis 2006

Black Lead (Death in Vegas) - Corine Stübi (2006, 7')

We found there is no stand-out first prize winner this year, so we decided to give two second prizes and one honourable mention. The second prizes are in no particular order and are awarded along with 2,000 € each.

Jury: Jeremy Boxer, Melissa Logan, Mika Taanila

Videostatement by Markus Wambsganss

8. MuVi Preis 2006

t’s All Blooming Now Mt. Heart Attack (Liars) - Markus Wambsganss (2006, 3'10'')

We found there is no stand-out first prize winner this year, so we decided to give two second prizes and one honourable mention. The second prizes are in no particular order and are awarded along with 2,000 € each.

Jury: Jeremy Boxer, Melissa Logan, Mika Taanila

Videostatement by Zeitguised

Live projection performance at Boros Bunker, Boros Collection, in March 2023. 

7. MuVi Preis 2005

The Zoo (Funkstörung) - Zeitguised (Henrik Mauler, Jamie Raap) (2004, 1')

Zeitguised uses technology to create a poetic landscape in which trains dance, boats float on roof tops, planes dissolve. Rhythmically perfect, the images are surprising. It touches you somewhere between the heart and the brain.

Jury: Vanessa Beecroft, François Chalet, Christian Fennesz

Videostatement by Martin Sulzer

6. MuVi Preis 2004

Let’s Push Things Forward (The Streets) - Martin Sulzer/Andi Triendl/Julia Weiger  (2004, 4')

The video appears as a fountain of ideas, realised in a convincing graphic style at a high creative level. Escalators, suburban housing estates, tanks, family images, footballers, mannequins, mass media images, collapsing industrial plants, robots are combined with an artistic ease. The two authors and the author reveal surrealistic and pop art references in their rich stories. Their work shows how state-of-the-art technology can be used without becoming an end in itself.

Jury: Karl Bartos, Pipilotti Rist, Charles Petit

Videostatement by Markus Wambsganss

5. MuVi Preis 2003

Perpendicular/Vector (Anti-Pop Consortium) - Markus Wambsganss (2002, 4'30'')

The marriage of 2 different musical elements becomes the concept of this outstanding video, which translates into the visuals, using the act of cutting up newspapers and books to create different meanings. This technique is also used in the actual splicing of the images finding its own esthetique, inspired by Film Noir and William Burroughs, with hints to current political issues.

Jury: Holger Liebs, Thomas Meinecke, Floria Sigismondi

Videostatement by Sandeep Mehta

5. MuVi Preis 2003

It Never Was You (Thomas Brinkmann) - Sandeep Mehta (2003, 4')

A hypnotic love dance within a glowing urban setting is told with technical sophistication. Choreography, cinematography and editing make this an energetic, musical piece.

Jury: Holger Liebs, Thomas Meinecke, Floria Sigismondi

Videostatement by Nina Rhode

4. MuVi Preis 2002

Take Me to Broadway (Gonzales) - Nina Rhode (2001, 4')

Cinema as a compression, a condensation of the arguments we have with ourselves during the creative process. Think of this selection as a kind of cinematic exorcism of the things that possess us when we think of the spectator and the director. This film, for us, was about the collapse of distinction between the two.

Jury: John Maybury, Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid, Svenja Rossa

Videostatement by Graw/Böckler

3. MuVi Preis 2001

Why (Donna Regina) - Graw/Böckler (2000, 4')

We enjoyed the way a strong sense of the cinematic was mixed with a home-made spirit. It was refreshing to look at.

Jury: Georges Bermann, Jem Cohen, Arezu Weitholz

Doctor Love

Actors: Rocko Schamoni, Heinz Strunk

Camera, directing, editing, and so on: Svenja Rossa

Puppeteer: Felix Reidenbach

Location: Dr. Tom Straessle

2. MuVi Preis 2000

Der Mond (Rocko Schamoni) - Svenja Rossa (1999, 4')

„Der Mond“ was in many ways the most traditional pop video, but we still found it the most effective promo clip. The populist location and content provided welcome ironic humour and the end section, unconnected to the song, took the video beyong its basic function and aspired to go beyond the limits of the song.

Jury: Dagie Brundert, Georg Seeßlen, Mark Webber

Statement by Bohren & Der Club of Gore

2. MuVi Preis 2000

Prowler (Bohren & Der Club of Gore) - Mark Sikora (1999, 3')

Whilst closely related to and evocative of the atmosphere of the music, this video had the most interesting visual content and could stand alone as a film independet of the soundtrack.

Jury: Dagie Brundert, Georg Seeßlen, Mark Webber

1. MuVi Preis 1999

Star Escalator (Sensorama) - Oliver Husain/Michel Klöfkorn (1998, 4'20'')

A music video prize has been awarded for the first time at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen. The jury awarded the "MuVi" prize for a music video from Germany to "Sensorama - Star Escalator" by the directing duo Oliver Husain and Michel Klöfkorn. The award is endowed with 10,000 marks. The aim is to highlight the importance of the authors, who have rapidly advanced the formal language of the clip, and the increasingly experimental formal language of the genre, which emerges in the confrontation with music, video art and film.

Jury: Julia Dorner, Christoph Dreher, Kodwo Eshun, Thomas Groß, Pinky Rose

Videostatement by Oliver Husain & Michel Klöfkorn