After “Nothing New in the West” had won four Oscars, the presentation of the German Film Prize seemed to be not very exciting. At the end of the evening, however, there was a surprise.
The literary adaptation “Nothing New in the West” by director Edward Berger won nine awards at the German Film Awards. However, the Golden Lola for the best feature film went to the drama “The Teacher’s Room”, as the film academy announced on Friday evening in Berlin. In it, director Ilker Çatak tells of a conflict at a school that is getting out of control. The film, starring actress Leonie Benesch, won five awards.
Benesch plays a teacher who wants to solve a series of thefts at her school and decides to secretly let a camera run in the teachers’ room. Benesch was honored as the best leading actress.
Çatak received the Lola for best director. Upon accepting the award, he said he grew up watching Fatih Akin’s films. “He was a beacon and I could look up to him. And I thank you for that, Fatih.” Çatak has also shot “The spoken word counts” in the past.
His new film unfolds quite a pull. It shows a microcosm between stacks of paper in the staff room and sports mats in the gym. A world that many still remember, even if their school days are long gone. The film is currently showing in cinemas and tells something about dynamics that can develop between people. And it can be understood as a commentary on a culture of debate that is more about outrage than mutual understanding.
Won four Oscars in the US
A favorite after its success in Hollywood, the anti-war drama “Nothing New in the West” won the most awards with nine Lolas but missed out on the top prize. Instead, he received the Lola in silver. The film about the First World War is based on a novel by Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970). He had won four Oscars in the United States.
According to the Film Academy, “Nothing New in the West” was the first production by a streaming provider to be nominated for the German Film Prize. In Berlin, the film was honored for music, camera work and sound design. The actors Felix Kammerer and Albrecht Schuch each received a Lola for best leading and supporting actor. Kammerer sat in the audience with a white shirt and pearl necklace and clapped his hands in front of his face at the news. The bronze Lola went to the thriller “Holy Spider” about a woman murderer in Iran.
Appearance in tears
Director Volker Schlöndorff (“The Tin Drum”) was honored for outstanding services to German film. Hollywood star John Malkovich and other filmmakers paid tribute to his work via video. Many would have thought when looking at the price list: “Oh, that again?” Schlöndorff joked in his acceptance speech for the honorary award. “And I even thought: ‘Don’t I already have it?'” He tearfully thanked his former partner, the director Margarethe von Trotta.
The award for the best documentary film went to “Elfriede Jelinek – Letting the language off the leash”. “Mission Ulja Funk” was best children’s film. “The School of Magical Animals 2” received an award for the best-attended film. Actress Jördis Triebel was honored as best supporting actress for her role in “In a country that no longer exists”.
The German Film Prize is one of the most important awards in the industry. The nominations and awards are endowed with a total of around three million euros for new projects. The money comes from the house of Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens). The evening was first shown online by ZDF and later on television.
Around 1,600 guests were invited to the ceremony at the Theater am Potsdamer Platz. Presenter Jasmin Shakeri initially promoted freedom of art by rapping and picked up the slogans of the protest movement in Iran with “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” (“Woman, Life, Freedom”). She commented on the political events with sharp punch lines and made jokes, for example during the award ceremony: “Anyone who hasn’t learned to pack a fucking sandwich in their clutch after all these years has just been unlucky for three hours.”
Current debate about working conditions on sets
A current debate on working conditions was also addressed several times. Minister of State for Culture Roth called for an open discussion of abuses in the industry. She called for problems to be named – such as dependency relationships, abuse of power and assaults. It needs an honest and open discussion. It must be possible to talk about what is going wrong and what can be improved. “We cannot and do not want to tolerate a climate of fear.”
After a “Spiegel” report about alleged harassment and a “climate of fear” during the shooting of the film “Manta Manta – Zwoter Teil” by director Til Schweiger, the production company Constantin announced that it would investigate possible incidents on the set. Schweiger’s lawyer had informed the “Spiegel” about the allegations that some of the “facts” were “not known” to her client; another assumes “alleged facts that did not exist”. It was also said there that “rumors circulating” for years were “wrongly presented as actual”. Schweiger did not respond to a request from the German Press Agency.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
