At the Bayerischer Filmpreis ceremony on Friday, 23 January 2026 in Munich, Michael Kofler was awarded in the category „Newcomer-Regiepreis“ (Best Emerging Director) for his feature debut Zweitland.
The jury praised Kofler’s film as a „Heimatfilm“ (film about a sense of territorial belonging) that questions the value of home and identity in every scene, avoids postcard clichés, and instead presents a raw, profound landscape and distinctive characters. For a directing debut, this is “a great, mature achievement.” Kofler accepted the prize from presenter Sandra Rieß and emphasized in his speech that, ultimately, diplomacy and political dialogue had brought peace to the province of South Tyrol — a thought that encouraged him during the making of the film.
Content and themes
Zweitland is set in South Tyrol in 1961, with a series of separatist bombings and an increased presence of Italian security forces as the historical backdrop. At the center are the brothers Paul (Thomas Prenn) and Anton (Laurence Rupp), along with Anton’s wife, Anna (Aenne Schwarz). While Paul, a sensitive, art-minded young man, wishes to escape the village and study painting, Anton radicalizes in the fight to protect the German-speaking minority — Anton is later caught as an attacker and forced to flee. Paul must choose between familial loyalty and personal fulfilment, while Anna begins to fight against the patriarchal structures of her environment.
The film explores identity, language conflicts, loyalty, and the moral complexities of violence and resistance.
Origins, language, and production
Michael Kofler wrote the screenplay from an idea he had back in 2011, during the RACCONTI Script Lab of IDM Film & Music Commission. For the shoot, Kofler returned partly to his native region, with dialogues primarily in South Tyrolean dialect, with the Italian police characters speaking, of course, in Italian. The set language, however, was English, as an international team from Germany, Austria, and Italy was involved in the project.
Zweitland is therefore a co-production of Munich’s Starhaus Filmproduktion (producers Wasiliki Bleser and Rainer Kölmel), Bozen’s Helios Sustainable Films (producer Martin Rattini), and Vienna’s KGP Filmproduktion (Gabriele Kranzelbinder, Barbara Pichler). IDM Film & Music Commission supported the film in the production phase; further funders include FFF Bayern, the Federal Government of Austria - Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), the Austrian Film Institute, the Italian Ministry of Culture (MIC), and the Office for Film and Media of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano; BR/ARTE and ORF were also involved.
Producers and participants repeatedly highlighted the logistical challenges — such as finding authentic locations to depict the poor South Tyrol of the 1960s — as well as the highly successful revival of historical milieus through production design and costumes.
Cast and artistic approach
The main roles are played by Thomas Prenn (Paul), Laurence Rupp (Anton), and Aenne Schwarz (Anna). The cast is rounded out, among others, by Francesco Acquaroli and Andrea Fuorto in the roles of the Italian police. Kofler’s direction places emphasis on balance: he aims to show and make both sides of the conflict understandable without glorifying them. Visually and atmospherically, Zweitland uses the gloomy mountain landscape of the Val di Funes Dolomites to mirror the characters’ inner and social unrest.
Significance and outlook
With the Bayerischer Filmpreis, one of the most important German-language awards (after the Deutscher Filmpreis), Michael Kofler’s debut now gains additional visibility and recognition — especially for the directing and for the sensitive treatment of a difficult chapter of South Tyrolean history. Being honored as Best Emerging Director (Newcomer-Regiepreis) paves the way for Kofler and his team to reach an even wider audience. At the same time, the prize confirms the value of cross-border co-productions and cinematic transpositions of a historically sensitive subject.
At the award ceremony in Munich, left to right: Martin Rattini (Helios Sustainable Films), actor Thomas Prenn, director Michael Kofler, Wasiliki Bleser (Starhaus Filmproduktion), Renate Ranzi (IDM Film & Music Commission), Nina Spilger (Starhaus Filmproduktion), Erwin Hinteregger (CEO IDM)