A Triumph for Senta Berger and Wim Wenders

[caption id="attachment_135041" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Ingo Fliess, Mia Maariel Meyer, and Simon Verhoeven
Presenters and Senta Berger · OH, THAT VOID, THAT TERRIBLE VOID—BEST FEMALE LEAD
at the 2026 GERMAN FILM AWARDS ceremony in Berlin
Copyright: Eventpress Fuhr[/caption]

The glamorous ceremony for the 76th German Film Awards has just come to a close in Berlin. Simon Verhoeven’s film adaptation of a literary work, supported by the German Film Foundation,“Oh, This Gap, This Horrible Gap” took home three Lolas, led by the Bronze Lola for Best Feature Film, as well as the Lola for Senta Berger for Best Leading Actress and Michael Wittenborn for Best Supporting Actor; the two play the grandparents in the film. Senta Berger, who at 85 was nominated for a German Film Award for the very first time, provided one of the most emotional moments of the evening with her acceptance speech. The audience celebrated her with a long round of applause.

“It was a special pleasure for us to serve as a co-partner and support the German Film Awards this year. ‘Oh, this void, this terrible void’ exemplifies the creative power of this year’s lineup. Congratulations to the producers from the Komplizen team—Janine Jackowski, Jonas Dornbach, and Maren Ade. And we tip our hats to Senta Berger and Wim Wenders! Two outstanding figures who deeply moved the audience,” said Walid Nakschbandi, Managing Director of the Film and Media Foundation NRW.

The production, which received 400,000 euros in funding from the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, attracted more than 1 million moviegoers, making it one of the most successful German films of the year. The film adaptation of Joachim Meyerhoff’ s autobiographical novel is a production by Komplizen Film in co-production with Warner Bros. Filmproductions Germany, Doll Filmproduktion, and Sentana Filmproduktion.

Wim Wenders was honored with the Honorary Award for his outstanding contributions to German and international cinema. The laudatory speech was delivered by Film Academy President Florian Gallenberger, who was once a film student under Wenders. The tribute to Wim Wenders was preceded by a standing ovation lasting several minutes. Wenders gave special thanks to Hanns Zischler, who appeared in his first film and is now “Thomas Mann,” as well as to Koji Yakusho from Tokyo, the lead actor in his latest film “Perfect Days,” and Senta Berger.

The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW has a long-standing, close collaboration with Wim Wenders. The Wim Wenders Grant, initiated by the FMS and awarded annually in Düsseldorf, supports emerging international filmmakers in realizing innovative projects.

The 76th German Film Award, the most prestigious award for German cinema, was supported this year for the first time by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW as a co-partner. This partnership underscored North Rhine-Westphalia’s close ties to German filmmaking.

The Film and Media Foundation NRW extends its warmest congratulations to all the award-winning productions and filmmakers.