The five-member jury headed by Oscar-nominated DoP and director Lajos Koltai chose Blockade as the best feature film. Its main actor (Zoltán Seress), supporting actress (Ildikó Tóth), cinematographer (András Nagy) and scriptwriter (Norbert Köbli) also won awards.
Sándor Csoma took home the award for best director for Heights and Depths / Magasságok és mélységek, a film which competed in 14 categories and eventually won in two.
The award for best main actress was shared between Emőke Pál (Heights and Depths) and Katalin Román (Six Weeks / Hat hét). Director Veronika Noémi Szakonyi's film Six Weeks was chosen as the best debut feature.
The audience award went to Riviera East / Nyugati nyaralás directed by Dániel Tiszeker.
The gala was overshadowed by an assault against a guest of the festival. Blockade director Ádám Tősér pushed Népszava’s journalist Géza Csákvári to the ground, insulted him and threatened him with a beating. All this happened on 9 June 2023, at the official party of the festival in Veszprém. "A film critic has the right to form an opinion about a particular work. Violence or public humiliation cannot be the answer to the journalist's words," Csákvári wrote in Népszava after the incident. The newspaper files a complaint for defamation.
"If legal action is taken, I will accept the consequences of my action, I really shouldn't have pushed him," Tősér told Index. He justified his action by saying that in a previous article, Csákvári "accused the film and all the creators of Blockade of one of the most serious crimes, open anti-semitism.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS
Best Feature Film:
Blockade / Blokád (Hungary)
Directed by Ádám Tősér
Produced by Film Positive
Supported by the National Film Institute – Hungary (NFI)
Best Documentary:
Rescuer / Szabadító (Hungary)
Directed by Gergely Hajnal
Produced by Budapest Film
Supported by the National Film Institute – Hungary (NFI)
Best Short Documentary:
Az Aranyvonat legendája (Hungary)
Directed by Attila Szász
Supported by the National Film Institute – Hungary (NFI)
Best Animated Film:
Toldi (Hungary)
Directed by Marcell Jankovics, Lajos Csákovics
Produced by Kecskemétfilm
Supported by the National Film Institute – Hungary (NFI), the Media Services and Support Trust Fund (MTVA),
Best Short Film:
Pragma (Hungary)
Directed by Bianka Szelestey
Supported by the National Film Institute – Hungary (NFI)
Sose lesz vége (Hungary)
Directed by Barbara Somossy
Supported by the National Film Institute – Hungary (NFI)
Best Television Film:
Az énekesnő (Hungary)
Directed by László Vitézy
Produced by Megafilm
Supported by the National Film Institute – Hungary (NFI)
Best TV Series:
The Informant / A besúgó (Hungary)
Directed by Bálint Szentgyörgyi, Áron Mátyássy, Bence Miklauzic
Produced by HBO Max, Proton Cinema
Best Debut Feature:
Six Weeks / Hat hét (Hungary)
Directed by Noémi Veronika Szakonyi
Produced by Sparks
Supported by the National Film Institute – Hungary (NFI)
Best Director:
Sándor Csoma for Heights and Depths / Magasságok és mélységek (Hungary)
Produced by JUNO11 Pictures
Coproduced by Sparks
Supported by the National Film Institute – Hungary (NFI)
Best Actress in a Leading Role:
Emőke Pál in Heights and Depths / Magasságok és mélységek
Katalin Román in Six Weeks / Hat hét
Directed by Noémi Veronika Szakonyi
Produced by Sparks
Supported by the National Film Institute – Hungary (NFI)
Best Actor in a Leading Role:
Zoltán Seress in Blockade / Blokád
Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
Szabolcs Thuróczy in Larry
Directed by Szilárd Bernáth
Produced by FocusFox
Supported by the National Film Institute – Hungary (NFI)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
Ildikó Tóth in Blockade / Blokád
Best Director of Photography:
András Nagy for Blockade / Blokád
Best Scriptwriter:
Norbert Köbli for Blockade / Blokád
Best Sound Engineer:
Attila Tőzsér for We Started Together / Együtt kezdtük
Directed by Yvonne Kerékgyártó
Produced by Sparks
Supported by the National Film Institute – Hungary(NFI)
Best Composer:
Lőrinc Barabás for A másik érintése
Best Editor:
Lili Makk for Blockade and The Informant
Best Production Designer:
Imola Láng for The Informant / A besúgó
Best Costume Designer:
János Breckl for Béke - A nemzetek felett
Best Make-up:
Réka Görgényi for Blockade / Blokád
Audience Award:
Nyugati nyaralás / Riviera East
Directed by Dániel Tiszeker
Produced by Little Bus Production
Supported by the National Film Institute – Hungary (NFI)
Zoltán Huszárik Award:
Krisztina Goda
Award of the Student Jury:
Six Weeks / Hat hét