The drama “Dear Thomas” by director Andreas Kleinert won the Golden Lola for the best feature film. The German Film Prize is considered the most important national award in the acting industry. The German Film Academy announced the decision on Friday evening in Berlin.
Actor Albrecht Schuch (36) has won his second German Film Prize. The German Film Academy honored him on Friday evening in Berlin for the best male leading role.
Schuch also received the award for his role in the drama Lieber Thomas, which tells of the life of the author Thomas Brasch. Schuch only won two Lolas at the awards ceremony in 2020, back then for the films “System Crasher” and “Berlin Alexanderplatz”.
“Dear Thomas” started with twelve and thus the most nominations and tells of the life of the author Thomas Brasch (1945-2001). Among others, the actress Jella Haase was honored for the best female supporting role. “Dear Thomas” is a reminder for me to be brave,” said Haase at the award ceremony.
Meanwhile, actress Meltem Kaptan won Lola for Best Actress. She was honored for her role in the drama Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush.
In it she plays the mother of longtime Guantánamo prisoner Murat Kurnaz – in the film she tries to free her son from the US prison camp. “Old Swede,” said Kaptan on Friday evening and thanked the Academy, the other nominated women and their families, among others.
In her acceptance speech, Kaptan also acknowledged the lifetime achievements of attorney Bernhard Docke and Rabiye Kurnaz, both of whom were sitting in the hall. The film also received an award for best supporting role, with Alexander Scheer receiving the award.
“I feel very honored tonight, thank you very much,” said the 46-year-old on Friday evening when the Lola was handed over. The film entered the race with a total of ten nominations.
The prizes are associated with a total of around three million euros for new projects. Katrin Bauerfeind will moderate the gala, she will broadcast the first with a time delay from 10:45 p.m.
Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth recalled the war in Ukraine at the award ceremony. “We know he’s there,” said the Greens politician on Friday evening in Berlin. It’s not even 1,000 kilometers from here to Lviv, to the Ukrainian border.
“War changes everything.” It changes the face of a city even before an enemy soldier has crossed the city limits.
Roth said he was making mountains of sandbags grow where there had previously been a memorial, and told of her visit to Odessa, where she had also visited the film studio. You see war in films, said Roth, calling the film “Komm und Sie” (Come and See) by director Elem Klimov. “The most brutal, the most relentless war film I know.” You can see the dehumanization of people.
“The war changes everything, even an evening like this,” said Roth. Is it still possible to celebrate the film? “You can’t just do it – you should, you have to.” She called on the film industry to reflect on its power. “The power of film, the magic of cinema.”
“We need the power of art. The power of literature. And the power of film,” said Roth. Not to distract from the misery of the world, but to counteract it.
She said they wanted to ensure that Ukrainian filmmakers could keep working. She is happy about the initiative of the German Film Academy to support Ukrainian filmmakers with a scholarship program. “They will show us the horrors of war, lest it remain nameless.”
