NRW at the International Emmys 2016
- NRW delegation at the International Emmy World Television Festival 2016
- Organisers: Federal State of NRW, Landesanstalt für Medien, and Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
- Actors: Christiane Paul, Florian Stetter, Maria Schrader, Sonja Gerhardt, Vladimir Burlakov, Annette Frier
- 5 nominations: „Deutschland83“ as best Drama Series, „Naked Among Wolves“ („Nackt unter Wölfen“) as best TV Movie, Christiane Paul as best Actress for „Under The Radar“ („Unterm Radar“) and Florian Stetter as best Actor for „Naked Among Wolves“ („Nackt unter Wölfen“), „War Of Lies“ („Krieg der Lügen“) as best Documentary
This week, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will be presenting the International Emmys to the world’s best TV programmes for the 44th time as part of the Emmy World Television Festival. Over 600 TV experts from 50 different nations are expected again this year in New York for the festival (19.-20.11.) and over 1000 for the awards ceremony (21.11.). The host is the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with President and CEO Bruce Paisner. The gala evening will be moderated this year by the master of ceremonies Alan Cumming, the British-American actor („The Good Wife“).
Five German nominations
Germany will have a strong presence with a total of five nominations. Three productions were made with the involvement of broadcasters from NRW and are competing in four categories for the prestigious award: the series „Deutschland83“ has been nominated in the category for Drama Series and „Naked Among Wolves“ („Nackt unter Wölfen“) in the category for TV Movie/Mini-Series . Nominations for an Emmy in the category for Best Performance by an Actor or Actress have gone to Florian Stetter „Naked Among Wolves“ („Nackt unter Wölfen“) and Christiane Paul for „Under The Radar” („Unterm Radar“), respectively.
NRW Delegation
NRW as the leading German TV hub has had a presence with a delegation of TV practitioners coming to New York since 2009. This year, the delegation included the following: the broadcasting executives Jörg Graf and Philipp Steffens (Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland), Claude Schmit (Super RTL), Michael Loeb (WDR Mediagroup), Hans Demmel (n-tv), and the producers Leopold Hoesch (Broadview TV, „Hedda“), Benjamin Benedict, Sebastian Werninger and Jörg Winger (UFA Fiction), Sam Davis (Rowboat, „Das Wunder von Kärnten“), Astrid Quentell (Sony, „Der Lehrer“), Fritjof Hohagen (enigma Film, „Unterm Radar“), Philip Borbély and Nico Roden (MMC Studios Cologne).
The NRW presentation is being jointly organised by the Federal State of NRW, represented in New York by Dr. Marc Jan Eumann, Secretary of State for the Minister of Federal Affairs, Europe and Media, the Landesanstalt für Medien (LfM), represented by the press spokesman Dr. Peter Widlok, and the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, represented in New York by CEO Petra Müller.
NRW and the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences have been cooperating since 2009. Apart from the annual visit to the Emmy Festival, the producer and iEmmy ambassador Leopold Hoesch also organises the Emmy Judgings in Cologne each summer.
The Emmy World Television Festival has been developing into an increasingly important international meeting place for the global TV industry. This year will also see Scripted, an international TV conference and market for „Global Scripted Content Biz“, being held immediately prior to the iEmmy Festival, on 17 and 18 November in New York. The Entertainment Masterclass will organise the „Negotiating Deals Master Class“ in the USA for the first time in Brooklyn, parallel with the Emmy Festival (19.-21.11.).
About the nominated productions:
The eight-part, nationally and internationally acclaimed event series „Deutschland83“ is based on a story set between the two Germanies in 1983 when the world verges on the edge of a nuclear catastrophe. This provides the backdrop for a story where the HVA, the GDR’s foreign intelligence service, sends the young NVA soldier Martin Rauch (Jonas Nay) to West Germany as a Western agent to gather information about the location of the Pershing II missiles and the preparations for the NATO’s „Able Archer“ manoeuvres. „Deutschland83“ was the first German language series to be aired on a major US cable channel (SundanceTV). To date, the eight episodes were sold to 38 TV channels and video platforms and could be seen in over 110 countries. The sequel „Deutschland86“ is being planned in collaboration with Amazon. The creators of „Deutschland83“ are Anna Winger (head writer) and Jörg Winger. Edward Berger and Samira Radsi were the directors on the espionage drama. „Deutschland83“ is a production of UFA Fiction for RTL.
„Naked Among Wolves“ is the cinematic reinterpretation of the eponymous novel by Bruno Apitz, which was first published in 1958 and centres on a young child being saved in the Buchenwald concentration camp at the end of March 1945. A three-year-old Jewish boy is smuggled into the camp in a suitcase – the rescue attempt becomes a metaphor for humanity under barbarious conditions. The film was directed by Philipp Kadelbach, who had already won an International Emmy in the category for TV Movie/Mini-Series in 2014 for the Filmstiftung-backed ZDF three-parter „Generation War“ („Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter“). The screenplay inspired by Bruno Apitz’s novel was penned by Stefan Kolditz. The lead actor Florian Stetter stars opposite Peter Schneider, Sylvester Groth, Thorsten Merten, Sabin Tambrea and Robert Gallinowski, among others. „Naked Among Wolves“ is a UFA Fiction production in co-production with MDR, ARD Degeto, WDR, SWR and BR.
„Under The Radar“ („Unterm Radar“) examines the question of how far a constitutional state may go in order to protect its citizens from a terror attack. The action focuses on a mother who refuses to abandon her daughter who has disappeared after a bomb attack and is suspected of being a terrorist. The TV movie was produced by enigma film, WDR and ARD Degeto. Elmar Fischer directed from a screenplay by Henriette Buegger. Lead actress Christiane Paul is joined by Heino Ferch, Fabian Hinrichs, Linn Reusse, Inka Friedrich and Matthias Matschke, among others.
In addition, there is a nomination in the Documentary category for the documentary „War Of Lies“ („Krieg der Lügen“) by writer-director Matthias Bittner, centring on the Iraqi chemical engineer Rafed Ahmed Alwan who is now living in Germany. Alwan, also known as „Curveball“, is said to have triggered the Iraq War with a lie about the existence of mobile weapons of mass destruction. The film sheds light on the historical background as well as Alwan’s psyche. Berlin-based Zischlermann Filmproduktion produced, with SWR and BR as TV partners.