The Film Forward International Competition Section features the work of new, daring filmmakers who, with their first or second film, challenge our relationship with storytelling and aspire to renegotiate it, beyond the boundaries of film genres. The films compete for the Golden Alexander – Best Feature Film Award (8,000 euros cash prize) and the Silver Alexander – Best Director Award (4,000 euros cash prize).
The Film Forward International Competition films are eligible for prizes awarded by Independent Juries.
The members of the Film Forward Jury are: Constanza Macras, choreographer; Christos Massalas, filmmaker; and Valeria Wagner, Zurich Film Festival programmer.
Constanza Macras
Constanza Macras (born 1970, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine choreographer, dancer, and director based in Berlin. After studying dance and fashion in Buenos Aires and continuing her dance training at Merce Cunningham Studios in Amsterdam and New York, she founded the international dance-theater company Constanza Macras / Dorky Park in 2003. Her ensemble brings together performers, musicians, and artists from diverse backgrounds, blending dance, theater, music, and film into vivid, socially engaged works. Macras’s company has been resident at the Volksbühne Berlin since 2019, with over 30 productions performed in more than 115 cities worldwide, including at Festival d’Avignon, Wiener Festwochen, and Romaeuropa Festival. She has created commissioned works for institutions such as Teatro Colón, GöteborgsOperan, and Theater Basel. Her accolades include the Goethe-Institut Award, Der Faust Prize for Best Choreography, and the Tabori Prize. In 2024, she received the B.Z. Culture Prize. Macras also choreographed Yorgos Lanthimos’s acclaimed films The Favourite (2018) and Poor Things (2023).
Constanza Macras (born 1970, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine choreographer, dancer, and director based in Berlin. After studying dance and fashion in Buenos Aires and continuing her dance training at Merce Cunningham Studios in Amsterdam and New York, she founded the international dance-theater company Constanza Macras / Dorky Park in 2003. Her ensemble brings together performers, musicians, and artists from diverse backgrounds, blending dance, theater, music, and film into vivid, socially engaged works. Macras’s company has been resident at the Volksbühne Berlin since 2019, with over 30 productions performed in more than 115 cities worldwide, including at Festival d’Avignon, Wiener Festwochen, and Romaeuropa Festival. She has created commissioned works for institutions such as Teatro Colón, GöteborgsOperan, and Theater Basel. Her accolades include the Goethe-Institut Award, Der Faust Prize for Best Choreography, and the Tabori Prize. In 2024, she received the B.Z. Culture Prize. Macras also choreographed Yorgos Lanthimos’s acclaimed films The Favourite (2018) and Poor Things (2023).
Christos Massalas
Born in 1986. Studied Filmmaking at the London Film School (LFS) and Film Theory at Kingston University, London. His films have screened at over 300 international film festivals (Cannes, Rotterdam, AFI, New Directors/New Films at MoMA, Locarno, etc.) and have received numerous prizes. His short film Copa-Loca was nominated for the European Film Award and received the Iris Award from the Hellenic Film Academy. His feature debut, Broadway, was supported by the Sundance Institute and Atelier Cinéfondation. It has received prizes and found theatrical distribution in various countries (France, the US, the Czech Republic, etc.). His sophomore feature, Killerwood, was released in 2024. He is currently preparing his third feature film.
Born in 1986. Studied Filmmaking at the London Film School (LFS) and Film Theory at Kingston University, London. His films have screened at over 300 international film festivals (Cannes, Rotterdam, AFI, New Directors/New Films at MoMA, Locarno, etc.) and have received numerous prizes. His short film Copa-Loca was nominated for the European Film Award and received the Iris Award from the Hellenic Film Academy. His feature debut, Broadway, was supported by the Sundance Institute and Atelier Cinéfondation. It has received prizes and found theatrical distribution in various countries (France, the US, the Czech Republic, etc.). His sophomore feature, Killerwood, was released in 2024. He is currently preparing his third feature film.
Valeria Wagner
Valeria Wagner holds a degree in Film Studies and English Language and Literature from the University of Zurich. During her studies, she worked at various music, theater, and film festivals. After interning at Vision du Réel in 2020, she subsequently worked in film production and distribution, and was a programmer for Pardi di domani at the Locarno Film Festival. She works as a programmer at the Zurich Film Festival since 2023. She is a member of the European Film Academy.
Valeria Wagner holds a degree in Film Studies and English Language and Literature from the University of Zurich. During her studies, she worked at various music, theater, and film festivals. After interning at Vision du Réel in 2020, she subsequently worked in film production and distribution, and was a programmer for Pardi di domani at the Locarno Film Festival. She works as a programmer at the Zurich Film Festival since 2023. She is a member of the European Film Academy.
