The Danube So Blue (Donau so blau) competition, launched in conjunction with the Johann Strauss 2025 Vienna anniversary year and seeking modern cinematic interpretations of the Blue Danube Waltz, found a worthy winner in the German film Ich paddel mit dem Kanu 3 Meter unter der Zivilisation (I Paddle My Canoe 3 Meters Below Civilization) by Michel Klöfkorn. The wild, free-flowing and socially critical animation was awarded the grand prize of €6,000 by the five-member jury.

Out of more than 200 submissions from around the world, nine films were selected in advance to be publicly screened for the first time during a gala event, where the winners were also announced.

The jury – consisting of curator Florian Widegger, editor Julia Drack, musicologist Julia Heimerdinger, journalist Gerald Heidegger, and actor/director Karl Markovics – awarded the second prize (€3,000) to the hot Albanian bodybuilding extravaganzaSommerkaiser (Summer Emperors) by Renato Balla, and the third prize (€1,200) to the breezy plastic bag waltzSac en Plastique by Austrian artist Stefanie Weberhofer.

News 1.6.2025