Young Ones Student Awards
The Young Ones competition is one of the most acclaimed advertising, interactive and design student competitions. It has a tradition of excellence dating back to 1986.
Category
Motion / Film Craft / Visual Effects
Annual ID
YO26_A022G
THE UNKNOWN tells the story of an astronaut on a solitary mission to Mars who appears outwardly as a fearless hero, yet is inwardly haunted by unresolved conflicts and suppressed trauma. Millions of kilometers away from Earth, his true journey begins: the confrontation with himself.
The film is specifically aimed at people who view therapy as a sign of weakness and radically challenges this perception. Here, self-reflection is portrayed not as defeat, but as the bravest form of departure. THE UNKNOWN presents therapy as an adventure — the next great stage of human development, where the most decisive breakthroughs occur not in outer space, but within.
Shot in Europe’s largest virtual production stage, the Hyperbowl, and created in collaboration with students from the renowned HFF Munich, THE UNKNOWN uses epic visuals and emotional storytelling to make the invisible visible. It doesn’t explain therapy—it invites viewers to step into it, as they would any meaningful journey into the unknown.
There was no use of AI in making this film. Many of the shots were either made from scratch as full CG shots, or composited, by six HFF students, who worked about half a year on this project. For more watch the "Making of"-video.
The film is specifically aimed at people who view therapy as a sign of weakness and radically challenges this perception. Here, self-reflection is portrayed not as defeat, but as the bravest form of departure. THE UNKNOWN presents therapy as an adventure — the next great stage of human development, where the most decisive breakthroughs occur not in outer space, but within.
Shot in Europe’s largest virtual production stage, the Hyperbowl, and created in collaboration with students from the renowned HFF Munich, THE UNKNOWN uses epic visuals and emotional storytelling to make the invisible visible. It doesn’t explain therapy—it invites viewers to step into it, as they would any meaningful journey into the unknown.
There was no use of AI in making this film. Many of the shots were either made from scratch as full CG shots, or composited, by six HFF students, who worked about half a year on this project. For more watch the "Making of"-video.
2026 Awards
Total Points: 45
Student Gold Cube
Credits
Composer
Jiro Yoshioka
Editor
Felix Friedlein
Luis Seemann
Film Director
Luis Seemann
Photographer
Dildar Hamo
Producer
Julia Tilk
Erik Kierzek
Writer
Erik Kierzek
Cinematographer
Leander Hartung
College / University
University of Television and Film Munich / Munich
1. Assistant Camera
Luca Gruber
1. Assistant Director
Lissy Giglberger
2. Assistant Camera
Riccardo Zottele
Shelly Bovens
2. Assistant Director
Moritz Hoffmann
Actor/Actress
Jakob Graf
Isabell Antonia Höckel
Best Boy
Florian Görres
Costume
Alica Becker
Maria Aysina
DMX
Freddy Glemser
Julius Eiberger
Extra
David Schneider
Hanna Habersetzer
Horst Lichtenheld
Levi S.
Gaffer
Samuel Zerbato
Grip
Paul Hirschauer
Thomas Brunner
Make-up Artist
Leonie Höck
Production Assistant
Pia Donata Pach
Timur Karayetis
Production Design
Anouk Friedmann
Production Designer
Luca Reuss
Mara Starka
Sergey Saprykin
Timur Karayetis
SFX
Jan Singh
Lennart Biegert
Sound-Designer
Jonathan Rösch
VFX-Artist
Edgar Bauer
Franz Stöcker
Jim Obmann
Leo Semmelmann
Mayra Ebensen
Vanessa Chu
VFX-Artist and Supervisor
Paula Wodniok
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