Variations on Violence wins Best Film at Oldenburg
Zachary Nichols's Variations on Violence has won Best Film at the Oldenburg Film Festival.
It received the German Independence Award for Best Film, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter on 23 September 2026. That award is the festival's Best Film honour.
The winning feature did not begin as a film. Nichols first developed Variations on Violence as an art installation, then expanded it into a feature-length release. The film's official site describes Nichols as a sculptor and creative director and identifies him as the owner of design studio George & Elaine, according to Variations on Violence.
The audience prize went elsewhere. Boris Mojsovski's Foreign Tongue received the Spirit of Cinema Award. That prize is decided by audience vote, so it reflects the choice of festivalgoers rather than a jury.
Risk-taking had its own category. Marjorie Conrad's The Joyless Economy won the German Independence Award for Originality, Daring and Audacity. The film had earlier premiered in Directors' Fortnight, a parallel programme at the Cannes Film Festival that presents new work outside the main competition. It is listed separately from the main Best Film prize.
New directors were recognised too. Matthew Osubor's Big Daddy's Flowers received the Hans Ohlms Award for Best Debut Film, the prize for a first feature. Debut here means a director's first feature film. The film had its world premiere at Oldenburg, which means the festival hosted its first public screening.
Acting honours were shared. Frank Mosley won the Seymour Cassel Award for acting for Jackrabbit. Gia Crovatin won the same award for Murderous. The two wins put both performers on the festival's honours list for screen performance.
Short films closed the list. Michele Leonardi's White Whiter Whitest Black won the German Independence Award for Best Short Film. The category honours work made at a shorter length than a full feature.
What makes this stand out is the spread in a single year. One programme brought together a gallery project turned feature, a Cannes premiere, a world premiere, an audience favourite and two awarded performances. For fans, this means a set of new titles to look out for as festival films move toward wider release.
