ORF triumphs at World Media Festival

At the 2025 World Media Festival in Hamburg, ORF received top honors in the “Television & Corporate Media” competition, with multiple cultural and nature documentaries winning prestigious awards in the “Documentary” category.

 

Gold Awards for Cultural Excellence:

A Theater for a Symphony, directed by Barbara Weissenbeck, won the intermedia-globe Gold Award. Commemorating the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony premiere at Vienna’s Kärntnertor Theater, the film delves into the composer’s creative journey and the dramatic debut of this iconic work. This co-production between ORF, WDR, and Filmwerkstatt Wien offers a powerful tribute to a musical milestone.

Another Gold Award went to The Imperial Crown – Myth, Mystery and Majesty, directed by Klaus T. Steindl. A co-production of ORF, ARTE, and EPO-Film, the documentary investigates the thousand-year history of the “Reichskrone,” exploring its significance in European history and recent discoveries surrounding its origins.

 

Silver Awards for Nature and Adventure:

Saalbach-Hinterglemm – Where Nature Comes Out On Top, a “Universum Nature” documentary by Therese Engels, earned a Silver Award. The film, set in Austria’s alpine region, captures the delicate balance between tourism and wildlife.

The Real Jungle Book, directed by Jeremy Hogarth and Kalyan Varma, also won Silver. Set in India, the film reveals the wildlife behind Kipling’s legendary tales.

 

All winning productions are distributed globally by ORF-Enterprise.

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