Films and series are not just for entertainment. They also shed light on stories that no one else would tell. 20 of them were awarded the “Blue Panther” in Munich.
On an evening with a festive atmosphere, 20 German productions were awarded the “Blue Panter – TV & Streaming Award” in Munich. There was a wide variety of projects – from documentary series about the Russian propaganda war in Ukraine to an ambitious project about the ability of people with Down syndrome to be trained.
Moderator Joko Winterscheidt was one of the big winners of the evening. He was honored twice at the media award ceremony: The 44-year-old was honored for the program “The World’s Most Dangerous Show” on Prime Video and, together with Klaas Heufer-Umlauf, received the audience award for the most popular entertainment program – for “Joko & Klaas against ProSieben”. The jury judged Winterscheidt in “The World’s Most Dangerous Show”: “Clearly, forcefully, but never with a raised finger, he shows his viewers the causes of climate change and shows possible strategies for countering it.” There was a prize in the culture/education category.
The “Blue Panther – TV & Streaming Award” was awarded 20 times on Wednesday evening in Munich. The prize is the successor to the Bavarian Television Prize. Special TV productions as well as formats from streaming providers and content on social media platforms were recognized.
A touch of sensitivity
But behind every appearance, no matter how glamorous, there was also a spark of sensitivity to the issues that were close to the authors’ hearts. After long applause, journalist and television presenter Dunja Hayali, who received the honorary award that evening, reminded the audience of the explosive nature of the Middle East. Hayali appealed to the people: “Make a difference. Palestinians and Muslims cannot per se be equated with the terrorist organization Hamas. That is a difference,” emphasized the 49-year-old. The “heute journal” presenter emphasized that crude, populist and undifferentiated accusations against the media are extremely dangerous. To applause, the journalist ended her speech with the Hebrew and Arabic greeting “Shalom and Salam.”
There were two prizes in the information/journalism category. The jury said about the honored documentary series “The Children of Lügde – Everyone Looked Away” (ZDFinfo): “Neglect or even more so abuse of children is so oppressive that it is often taboo in our society.” The second award went to the documentary series “Juan Carlos – Love, Money, Betrayal” (Sky) about the former King of Spain.
Prices for series
Oscar winner Caroline Link received the award for best director for her first television series “Safe” (ZDFneo). In the fiction category, “Yesterday we were still children” (ZDF) won the audience award as the most popular series.
Jeanette Hain was honored as best actress for her role as Jutta in “Luden – Kings of the Reeperbahn” (Prime Video). Jutta is a sex worker on Hamburg’s Reeperbahn – and became the actress’s favorite role: “Jutta, I love her dearly and deeply. I am incredibly grateful that I was allowed to film the series,” said Hain. “Thanks to Jeanette Hain’s convincing play, Jutta becomes an emotional gateway into his dazzling underworld,” the jury explained its decision.
Akeem van Flodrop (“I don’t work here”, ZDFneo) was named best actor. Further prizes went to Saskia Geisler and Kristian Kähler (“Propaganda Battle for Ukraine”, ARTE) and to a team of reporters from Bayerischer Rundfunk (“Dirty Little Secrets”).
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.
