| Franz Grabner Prize | 2026 |

The award was initiated by the Grabner family, AAFP, Film Austria, ORF and the Diagonale in memory of ORF journalist Franz Grabner (1955-2015). The award recognises an ethically and morally responsible and credible approach by filmmakers to their medium. It serves to support Austrian documentary films and documentaries for cinema and television on topics from culture, society, politics or history. These should deal critically with socially relevant topics. The award was presented for the 9th time as part of Diagonale ‘26 and is endowed with € 5,000 each — donated by AAFP and ORF. The prize money is earmarked for the development of the award winner’s follow-up project.

| CINEMA DOCUMENTARY |
| Pavel Cuzuioc for Grünes Licht |

Jury statement:
It is a sensitive and socially contentious issue that the film leads us into. With care and compassion, it reveals long and deeply individual journeys of suffering: unresolved trauma, loneliness, pain, the loss of autonomy, and depression. Every word, every feeling matters and carries weight. The subject is demanding. It pushes the protagonist, neuropsychiatrist Dr. Johann Spittler, to his limits, both emotionally and ethically. He continually reflects on his own actions and decisions. This man takes on responsibility of the utmost consequence and repeatedly exposes himself to extreme situations that anyone would wish to avoid. The film takes us right up to this boundary while preserving the dignity of everyone involved in an impressive way. With a precise gaze, as empathetic as its protagonist, as respectful as it is direct, it leads us toward a question for which there is no space in society and which can only be answered on a deeply personal level. We feel the despair and burden, the confinement and heaviness experienced both by those affected and by the protagonist. Thoughts and reflections emerge within us that we would normally not allow ourselves to entertain. Günes Licht by Pavel Cuzuioc is a courageous film. Both cinematically and thematically, it explores spaces for action from which most people would recoil. Through the encounters of neuropsychiatrist Dr. Johann Spittler with those who long for death, the film sheds light on assisted suicide with clarity and conviction. And it challenges its audience to develop their own stance toward this tabooed wish.

Also nominated in this category were Girls & Gods von Arash T. Riahi & Verena Soltiz and Noch lange keine Lipizzaner von Olga Kosanović.

| TV DOCUMENTARY FILM / TV-SERIES / WEB FORMAT |
| Robert Styblo for Österreich unter dem Regenbogen |

Jury statement:
Starting from the vibrant, sensuous images of the present, the film dives into a traumatic past: exclusion, prejudice, and criminalization made a free, dignified, and self-determined life impossible, even though such a life is a human right. Through personal life stories, the film tells the long struggle for recognition and equality of the queer community with empathy and sensitivity, while also remaining vivid, outspoken, and full of joy. It showcases and celebrates diversity, while at the same time making the historical and sociopolitical context tangible. The film pays loving tribute to courageous pioneers, the trailblazers of a recognition that came far too late and was hard won. But it does not stop there. It also points to new struggles for acceptance and equality, and reminds us that tolerance and hard-won rights can never be taken for granted. Österreich unter dem Regenbogen by Robert Styblo takes its audience by the hand and leads it through the history of the emancipation of the gay, lesbian, and queer movement, which was so often met with inhumane persecution and condemnation for the most human of things: love and desire. Österreich unter dem Regenbogen is a life-affirming film, full of strong and positive personalities. The journey from enforced and involuntary concealment to joyful, outspoken self-expression is a powerful one. And today, it is a path that many people, both within and beyond the queer community, proudly and openly walk together.

Also nominated in this category were Das Rohstoff-Dilemma – Mit Bergbau aus der Klimakrise by Linda Osusky and Monika Grassl, and Visionen bauen by Diego Breit Lira.

Jury 2026:
Antje Boehmert (Producer & Writer, DE)
Jakob Brossmann (Filmmaker & Set Designer, AT)
Karin Moser (Film Scholar, AT)