# Variations on Violence Wins Oldenburg Film Prize

> Zachary Nichols' film takes top honor at Germany's indie festival.
- Title: Variations on Violence Wins Oldenburg Film Prize | Shortify
- Summary: Zachary Nichols' film takes top honor at Germany's indie festival. Zachary Nichols' Variations on Violence won the German Independence Award for Best Film at…
- Keywords: variations on violence, oldenburg film festival, zachary nichols, german independence award, military drone operator, sister mary, Variations, Violence, Wins, Oldenburg, Film, Prize
- Source: The Hollywood Reporter — https://hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/variations-on-violence-best-film-2026-oldenburg-1236708307
- Author: Scott Roxborough
- Published: 2026-09-23T13:42:07+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: variations on violence, oldenburg film festival, zachary nichols, german independence award, military drone operator, sister mary
## Variations on Violence Wins Award
Zachary Nichols' Variations on Violence won the German Independence Award for Best Film at this year's Oldenburg Film Festival, Germany's leading indie film festival.
## Military Drone Operator Story
The film follows a military drone operator whose remote-controlled violence follows him home, along with his sister Mary, who is caught in a cycle of unstable relationships as Johnny's grip on reality deteriorates.
## Project Origin
Nichols originally developed the project as an art installation before expanding it into a feature.
## Foreign Tongue Wins Spirit Award
Boris Mojsovski's Foreign Tongue received the Spirit of Cinema Award, which is determined by festival audience vote.
## Foreign Tongue Cast and Plot
The Canadian film, in its German premiere, stars Steve Byers, Cynthia Aspherger and Greg Bryk. It centers on Kathy (Kimberly-Sue Murray) a single woman who falls into a coma after a fall at a speed-dating event and wakes up speaking with a Bosnian accent.
## Foreign Tongue's Impact
A change that alters how she is perceived and treated, and that connects her with a hospital cleaner who introduces her to a new social world.
## Key takeaway

Zachary Nichols' Variations on Violence won the German Independence Award for Best Film at the Oldenburg Film Festival.