First awards of the Wim Wenders Scholarship in Düsseldorf

• Four winners awarded a total of 95,000 Euros 
• Awards ceremony at the Wim Wenders Foundation in Düsseldorf

The Wim Wenders Scholarship has been awarded in Düsseldorf to four projects with a total of 95,000 Euros. This was the first time that the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW had awarded the scholarship for the development of innovative film ideas as a collaborative venture with the Wim Wenders Foundation which was founded in Düsseldorf in 2012.  The support is aimed at young film-makers who have the vision of using new methods for telling stories and expanding their visual language.

The jury under the chairmanship of Wim Wenders made its decisions from a total of 49 submitted applications. Petra Müller, CEO of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, and Mirko Derpmann, creative director and member of the management at Scholz & Friends, are the other members of the jury.

„We thank all of the applicants who had placed their trust in us from this very first round of applications with extraordinarily creative ideas and concepts. Congratulations to the scholarship holders for 2014 and all the best and lots of success for the future development of their projects“, Petra Müller said.

„From the outset, we regarded it as being important for the scholarship that support goes to film-makers who approach familar forms and formats in an innovative way. In the end, the jury decided for those applicants who convinced us with an extraordinary story and, at the same time, made us confident that they will also enter into a dialogue with their visual language,“ jury chairman Wim Wenders observed. „I am looking forward to accompanying the funding projects with advice and support to the best of my ability.“

Wim Wenders Scholarship jury (left to right): Mirko Derpmann, Wim Wenders, Petra Müller © Anna Kaduk / Film- und Medienstiftung NRW

Prizewinners

„The Wolf Brothers“ („Gebrüder Wolf“) by Fabian Driehorst and Frédéric Schuld, Hamburg / Düsseldorf, Animation film
40,000 Euros
Following the death of his grandparents, Dan Wolf receives a letter which his grandfather had written before he was even born. In it, he writes about his missing film and why as a comedian he had to flee from Hamburg and how he came to the USA via Shanghai. Dan sets off with the help of a German journalist on the traces of his ancestors and finds the story of his name because there had once been a Dan before and the Wolf family had changed its name for good reason.

„The Story of Berlin“ by Erik Schmitt, Berlin,Fiction film
20,000 Euros
Two diametrically opposite people set off on the search for a lost treasure under the city.Viktor is an introvert theorist, an archeologist who has never been on an excavation. Sophia is wild, high-spirited and always close to the limit, not far from burning her fingers. Their journey is more than an adventure through the urban space. For whoever sets about digging up forgotten memories will always find pain and emptiness. An anti-archeological journey to the surface of the city.

„MOB“ by Alexandra Schröder and Natalie Muntermann, Cologne, Film essay 20,000 Euros
Mass events have attracted people since time immemorial. One can disappear into the mob, increase one’s own self-esteem in it, escape into a parallel world or manifest a political statement . „MOB“ observes the choreography of the mob, immerses itself in the exhilaration and offers the portrait of a fleeting being in an artistic essay film.

„A cruel game“ („Ein böses Spiel“) by Eibe Maleen Krebs and Andreas Keck, Hamburg / Berlin, Cinematic chamber piece
15,000 Euros
27-year-old Sven has been living in a care home for several years. He suffers from muscular dystrophy and knows that he will die soon. Since Sven’s care needs have recently increased, he is allocated a community service volunteer as a personal carer. Stephan is bubbling over with enthusiasm and has long had the desire to help sick people. Sven and Stephan now pass through several stages of a relationship. Sven initially makes Stephan’s life hard because he hates being degraded to the status of a sick person…