With these awards, the festival honours two female artists who, over the course of decades, have made a defining contribution to European cinema and theatre, each in her own way, both with great consistency and artistic independence.
“This year we are honouring two artists who are very different, but who certainly have one thing in common: they have remained true to themselves, consistent, and they champion openness and humanist values, which are unfortunately all too often called into question today.
In honouring Ottavia Piccolo, we are paying tribute to an extraordinary actress whose work on stage and screen has set standards for decades. Her unmistakable presence, her keen sense of social issues and her powerful commitment to artistic and democratic values make her a voice that resonates far beyond the confines of the stage and screen. Ottavia Piccolo is an artist who touches, moves and inspires – and we are proud to celebrate her work in this context.
“Ulrike Ottinger embodies, like few others, the courage to rigorously pursue her own artistic vision. Her films, her entire body of work, invite us to look at the world anew with open eyes and a fascinated, heretical spirit. This honour recognises not only an extraordinary life’s work, but also an attitude that inspires us.” explains Vincenzo Bugno, artistic director of the BFFB.
Ulrike Ottinger – Filmmaker, visual artist and traveller between cultures
Ulrike Ottinger grew up in Konstanz and lived in Paris from 1962 to 1969, where she worked as a visual artist, trained in Johnny Friedlaender’s studio and attended lectures at the Collège de France. Back in Germany, she founded the “filmclub visuell” in Konstanz in 1969 and turned her attention to film in the early 1970s.
With Madame X – Eine absolute Herrscherin (1977), Freak Orlando (1981) and Dorian Gray im Spiegel der Boulevardpresse (1984), she developed a distinctive cinematic style. In addition to her feature films, she has made numerous documentaries, including China. The Arts – Everyday Life (1985), Johanna d’Arc of Mongolia (1989), Chamissos Schatten (2016) and the essay film Paris Calligrammes (2020).
Her latest film The Blood Countess celebrated its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2026. Retrospectives and exhibitions have honoured her work at venues including the Museum of Modern Art and the Centre Pompidou. She has received numerous awards, including the Berlinale Camera (2020) and the German Documentary Film Award’s Honorary Prize for her life’s work (2024).
Paris Calligrammes and Johanna d’Arc of Mongolia will be screened at the 39th BOLZANO FILM FESTIVAL BOZEN.
Ottavia Piccolo – Actress spanning theatre, cinema and socio-political activism
Ottavia Piccolo is an actress working in theatre, film and television. She made her stage debut at the age of eleven in Anna dei miracoli, directed by Luigi Squarzina, alongside Anna Proclemer. She subsequently worked with leading directors such as Luchino Visconti, Giorgio Strehler and Luca Ronconi. She was cast by Visconti for the cinema and appeared in Il Gattopardo.
She gained international recognition in 1970 with Metello by Mauro Bolognini, for which she was awarded the Best Actress prize at the Cannes International Film Festival. Over the course of her film career, she worked with, amongst others, Claude Sautet, Pierre Granier-Deferre, Pietro Germi, Ettore Scola and Luigi Magni.
Ottavia Piccolo also appeared in popular television productions in Italy and France. At the same time, she remained closely connected to the theatre. Over the past twenty years, she has developed a close collaboration with the playwright and director Stefano Massini. Together they have created productions including Donna non rieducabile, Processo a Dio, 7 minuti, Enigma, Occident Express, Cosa nostra spiegata ai bambini and Matteotti (anatomia di un fascismo) with the Orchestra Multietnica di Arezzo.
As part of the festival, the films Metello by Mauro Bolognini and 7 minuti by Michele Placido will be screened.
The honorary awards of the 39th BOLZANO FILM FESTIVAL BOZEN will be presented during the festival in April 2026 in collaboration with the Bolzano Tourist Board.
