Award

The Werner Herzog Film Award 2025 goes to
Harris Dickinson for his film URCHIN

The Werner Herzog Film Award, an annual award endowed with a sum of €5,000, can go to a feature film, a documentary, a filmmaker, an actor, or anyone working in the art of cinema. It will be given to special achievements in innovation, courage, and vision. The award is open to citizens of all countries. There is no application procedure, and no competition.

The Werner Herzog Foundation Award 2025 goes to

Harris Dickinson for his film URCHIN

Werner Herzog on the bestowal of the award:

“The 2025 Werner Herzog Film Foundation Award goes to Harris Dickinson for his film URCHIN. With the young director and writer Harris Dickinson, we welcome a new voice in international cinema — one that is entirely self-sustained, in style, worldview, and narrative form. URCHIN is a courageous film that will give hope to all young filmmakers.”

Urchin is the feature-length directorial debut of Harris Dickinson, who also wrote the screenplay. The film had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the 78th Cannes Film Festival, where Dickinson received the FIPRESCI Prize and lead actor Jack Dillane won the award for Best Actor in the section.

The film follows a homeless young man in London as he struggles with addiction and poverty. Rather than asking for the audience’s judgment, Urchin invites empathy for his self-destruction. It is raw, absurd, and profoundly beautiful — in its direction, cinematography, and performances alike.

Harris Dickinson began his acting career in British television and gained critical recognition with his first leading role in Eliza Hittman’s Beach Rats (2017), for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. Since then, he has taken on a range of compelling roles in films such as The King’s Man (2021), Triangle of Sadness (2022), and Babygirl (2024).

The award ceremony is going to take place on
Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 7 pm
at the Munich Cinematheque (Filmmuseum München), St.-Jakobs-Platz 1

The ceremony is followed by the screening of the award winning film and a live discussion between the Harris Dickinson and Werner Herzog.

Limited ticket sales.