The Disappearance of Josef Mengele won the Grand Prize for Masterful Literary Adaptation in the feature film competition within Cinelibri, an international festival in Bulgaria dedicated to screen adaptations of literary works. For the second consecutive year, a film directed by Kirill Serebrennikov has been the jury’s favourite at the festival — last year’s winner was Serebrennikov’s biographical drama Limonov.
The Disappearance of Josef Mengele, a 135-minute co-production between France, Germany, Mexico, the United States and the United Kingdom, is based on the novel of the same name by Olivier Guez. It traces the life of the Nazi doctor and executioner from Auschwitz, who found refuge in South America after the Second World War. Throughout his years on the run — from Paraguay to the Brazilian jungle — he was never captured. He died in Brazil in 1979, without ever being tried for his crimes. He remains infamous for the sadistic, inhuman experiments he carried out on people in the death camps.
Cinelibri director Jacqueline Wagenstein presented the jury’s reasoning, announcing that the award was granted for “a powerful blend of bold cinematic choices, a skilfully adapted screenplay and masterful direction, which allow the viewer to look into the dark recesses of the human soul and attempt to understand the motives of a person embodying the very idea of evil.”
The jury’s statement reads: “The chilling black-and-white style, deep psychological insight, and the remarkable performance of August Diehl as the relentless Nazi doctor-executioner Josef Mengele, all contribute to the film’s dramatic intensity and its portrayal of the indestructible nature of evil — which is most dangerous when left unpunished. The resonance of this profound cinematic experience is amplified by its eerie parallels with contemporary reality.”
The jury was chaired by Danish actor Claes Bang and also included Sergei Loznitsa, Aton Soumas, Tonya Sotiropoulou and Katya Trichkova.
The award was accepted on behalf of Kirill Serebrennikov by Mike Downey, President of the European Film Academy. “I will make sure this prize reaches its rightful owner, who I am absolutely certain is delighted to receive it,” Downey said.
The Cinelibri jury also presented an award for Outstanding Female Cinematic Voice to the film Love Me Tender by director Anna Kaznav Kambe — “for its deeply authentic and feminine cinematic voice that speaks with courage, sensitivity and truth.”
The award in the documentary competition went to Sergei Loznitsa for his film The Natural History of Destruction. According to Jacqueline Wagenstein, the prize recognizes “a work of art that strikes with its depth and perspective, leaves one speechless, and must be passed on to future generations.”
The Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution to the Art of Cinematography went to Polish director and screenwriter Agnieszka Holland. The honour was presented by the famous French pop singer of Bulgarian origin, Sylvie Vartan. Holland noted that she had visited Bulgaria several times and “each time felt at home.”
The Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Art of Screen Performance was presented to Italian actor Toni Servillo, who received the statuette from Italian Ambassador to Bulgaria Marcello Apicella.
The 11th Cinelibri International Book-to-Film Festival will close on November 3.
“The Disappearance of Josef Mengele” Wins Grand Prize at Cinelibri Book-to-Film Festival THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-10-25 17:43:58 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
