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FAST FACTS:
• Nine nominations for „Dying“ by Matthias Glasner
• Followed by „The Theory of Everything“ (six nominations) and „The Fox“ (five nominations)
• Also nominated for Best Film: „A Whole Life“, „In the Blind Spot“ and „Elaha“
• Honorary award for Hanna Schygulla
• The new selection process was used for the first time
• Lola award ceremony on May 3 at the Theater am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin
And once again there is a clear favorite for the German Film Award, which will be presented this year on May 3 in Berlin. „Sterben“ by Matthias Glasner, his first feature film in 12 years, following “Mercy” and a whole slew of high profile work for TV, received nine nominations. The film just celebrated its world premiere in Competition at the Berlinale and earned Glasner a Silver Bear for Best Screenplay. The production by Port au Prince, Senator Filmproduktion and Schwarzweiss Film, which Wild Bunch will release in German cinemas on April 25, was nominated for Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay. In addition, Corinna Harfouch and Lars Eidinger were nominated for Best Female Actor and Best Male Actor respectively. It is particularly striking that „Sterben“ is represented twice in the Best Supporting Actor category: Robert Gwisdek and Hans-Uwe Bauer are competing directly against each other. There are also nominations for best editing and best film music.
That is a considerable number, but compared to the twelve nominations that „All Quiet on the Western Front“ received the previous year (followed by nine awards, but not for Best Film – the Lola in Gold went to „The Teachers’ Lounge“), and the twelve nominations for „Dear Thomas“ the year prior (followed by nine Lolas), Glasner’s three-hour tragicomedy is not quite up there with the record holders of recent years. The 59-year-old Matthias Glasner, who was previously nominated for a German Film Award in 2007 as Best Director for his work on „Free Will“, is the most nominated artist of the evening with three nominations (production, direction, screenplay).
It is followed in this year’s very arthouse-heavy field of competitors by another title that celebrated its world premiere in competition at an A-list festival: „The Theory of Everything“ by Timm Kröger was first shown at last year’s Mostra in Venice and was then released in German cinemas on October 26, 2023, distributed by Neue Visionen (almost 50,000 tickets sold). The virtuoso and ominous black-and-white thriller was nominated six times for a Lola, including for Best Film and Best Director, as well as in the technical categories of cinematography, film music, production design and visual effects. Although Timm Kröger had already presented his first feature film in 2014 with „Zerrumpelt Herz“, which was also shown in Venice but did not receive a commercial release, „The Theory of Everything“ is sometimes also referred to as the director’s real film debut – with „Elaha“ by Milena Aboyan, which was first shown at the Berlinale 2023 in the then still existing Perspektive Deutscher Film sidebar, there would then be two directorial debuts among the six nominees in the race for Best Film. „The Fox“ by Austrian Adrian Goiginger follows with five nominations, including best actor, best screenplay, best cinematography and best visual effects. The historical drama had its world premiere at the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, where it already screened in competition in 2022.
Four nominations were secured by „A Whole Life“ by Hans Steinbichler, which is the most commercially successful film among the nominees for Best Film with just over 250,000 admissions when it was released by Tobis on November 9, 2023: for the first time since the German Film Award in the coronavirus year 2021, only films with fewer than 500,000 admissions were being nominated. „A Whole Life“, the adaptation of Robert Seethaler’s bestseller of the same name, celebrated its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival (as did Kilian Riedhof’s „A Whole Life“, which was nominated three times in total). In addition to a nomination for best film, production design, make-up and sound design also have a chance of winning. Ayse Polat’s „In the Blind Spot“, which was first shown in the Encounters side competition at the Berlinale in 2023 and won the main prize in Oldenburg, managed a total of three nominations, exclusively in the main categories of best film, best director and best screenplay. Alongside „Elaha“, the artful thriller is the only title directed by a woman in contention for a Best Film Lola; Polat is the only woman nominated for the directing prize.
Following heavy criticism of the selection process for the German Film Awards last year, the nominations were made using a simplified process for the first time this year. In 2024, the first stage of the previous three-stage selection process, which involved a pre-selection of productions by a commission, was eliminated. All members of the German Film Academy now select the nominees for the best feature and children’s film directly from all the entries submitted. In a second step, all members vote on the winners in the various categories.
It was announced beforehand that Hanna Schygulla would receive the Honorary Award. The Audience Award for the most-viewed German film in 2023 goes to „Die drei ??? – Erbe des Drachen“, which achieved almost 1.6 million admissions. The 74th German Film Awards will be presented on May 3 at the Theater am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. Director Lars Jessen and author Samira El Ouassil will be responsible for the production. It has not yet been made public who will present the awards.
The nominations at a glance
Best Film
„The Fox“
„The Theory of Everything“
„A Whole Life“
„Elaha“
„In the blind spot“
„Dying“
Best Family Film
„Checker Tobi and the Journey to the Flying Rivers“
„Winners“
Best Documentary Film
„Anselm“
„Seven Winters in Tehran“
„Don’t Forget Meyn“
Best Female Lead Actor
Hannah Herzsprung („15 Years“)
Bayan Layla („Elaha“)
Corinna Harfouch („Dying“)
Best Leading Male Actor
Simon Morzé („The Fox“)
Marc Hosemann („Sophia, Death and I“)
Lars Eidinger („Dying“)
Best Female Supporting Actor
Adele Neuhauser („15 Years“)
Marie-Lou Sellem („Bones and Names“)
Barbara Philipp („Talk to me“)
Best Male Supporting Actor
Christian Friedel („15 Years“)
Robert Gwisdek („Dying“)
Hans-Uwe Bauer („Dying“)
Best Director
Timm Kröger („The Theory of Everything“)
Ayşe Polat („In the Blind Spot“)
Matthias Glasner („Dying“)
Best Screenplay
Adrian Goiginger („The Fox“)
Ayşe Polat („In the Blind Spot“)
Matthias Glasner („Dying“)
Best Cinematography
Yoshi Heimrath, Paul Sprinz („The Fox“)
Roland Stuprich („The Theory of Everything“)
Lotta Kilian („Luise“)
Best Editing
David J. Achilles („Falling into Place“)
Nicole Kortlüke („Seven Winters in Tehran“)
Heike Gnida („Dying“)
Best Film Music
Diego Ramos Rodríguez („The Theory of Everything“)
John Gürtler, Jan Miserre featuring Saba Alizadeh („Empty Nets“)
Lorenz Dangel („Dying“)
Best Production Design
Cosima Vellenzer, Annika Klatt („The Theory of Everything“)
Jurek Kuttner, Marcel Beranek, Hanna Bowe, Bernadette Weinzierl („A Whole Life“)
Heike Lange, Alexandra Pilhatsch („Girl You Know It’s True“)
Albrecht Konrad, Ellen Somnitz, Ruth Barbara Wilbert („Stella. A Life“)
Best Costume Design
Tanja Hausner („The Glory of Life“)
Ingken Benesch („Girl You Know It’s True“)
Thomas Oláh („Stella. A Life“)
Best Make-up
Helene Lang („A Whole Life“)
Alisza Pfeifer, Christina Baier („Girl You Know It’s True“)
Kerstin Gaecklein, Heiko Schmidt, Lisa Becker („Stella. A Life“)
Best Sound Design
Max Vornehm, Christof Eberhardt, Christian Bischoff („A Whole Life“)
Bahman Ardalan, Ansgar Frerich, Florian Beck („Empty Nets“)
Michael Schlömer, Corinna Fleig, Tobias Fleig („The Dive“)
Best Visual Effects
Manfred Büttner („The Fox“)
Kariem Saleh, Adrian Meyer („The Theory of Everything“)
Juri Stanossek, Apollonia Hartmann, Jan Burda („Girl You Know It’s True“)
Marco Del Bianco, Benedict Neuenfels („Stella. A Life“)