Partnership Between the German Film Award and North Rhine-Westphalia

Last night, the first-ever Nominees’ Evening for the 76th German Film Award took place at the North Rhine-Westphalia State Representation in Berlin. Media Minister Nathanael Liminski welcomed representatives of the German Film Academy and a host of film industry luminaries via video message. The Film and Media Foundation NRW is a co-partner of the German Film Award this year—not only for the awards ceremony on May 29, but also in the run-up to the event, when the nominees gather for a festive celebration.

In the lead-up to the 76th German Film Awards, numerous filmmakers, nominees, and industry representatives gathered last night in Berlin for the traditional nominees’ gala. The festive event took place for the first time at the North Rhine-Westphalia State Representation. The Film and Media Foundation NRW is a co-partner of the German Film Awards, thereby underscoring the state’s close ties to German filmmaking. With the “Botschaft des Westens,” a venue was chosen that is familiar to most filmmakers, as it also hosts one of the largest events during the Berlinale each February: the NRW Reception.

Nearly all of this year’s German Film Prize nominees were in attendance, including the teams behind the multiple-nominee productions “Ach diese Lücke, diese entsetzliche Lücke,” “Gelbe Briefe,” “In die Sonne schauen,” as well as other outstanding films from the current cinema season. The NRW-funded production “Die Lücke” in particular was represented by numerous members of its cast and crew—from director Simon Verhoeven to producer Janine Jackowski (Komplizen Film) to lead actor Bruno Alexander. Mala Emde and Florian Gallenberger, president of the German Film Academy, hosted the nominees’ evening; guests spotted included nominees Luna Wedler, Laura Tonke, Jannis Niewöhner, and directors such as Mascha Schilinksi (“In die Sonne schauen”), İlker Çatak (“Gelbe Briefe”), and many others.

Nathanael Liminski, Minister of Media for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia: “North Rhine-Westphalia is a film hub and is particularly distinguished by its diversity. This is evident once again in this year’s nominations for the German Film Award. But this diversity is also evident when we look at the many filmmakers who call North Rhine-Westphalia home. Whether cinematographer, sound engineer, casting director, or makeup artist—behind every production is a team with a wide variety of talents. It is the attention to detail shown by these specialists and experts that makes cinema the experience we remember so fondly. The German Film Award is the most important recognition of their extraordinary achievements, and we are delighted to host all these wonderful filmmakers.”

Walid Nakschbandi, Managing Director of the Film and Media Foundation NRW: “Thenomination ceremony was a glittering celebration of German film and its artists. The quality of the works and the palpable creative energy left a lasting impression. As a co-partner of the German Film Award, it was an honor for us to be part of this special evening and to send a clear message: As a leading film and media hub, NRW and the Film Foundation always stand by film and cinema. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the nominees and thank the Film Academy for the wonderful collaboration. As we look forward to the awards ceremony on May 29, the excitement and anticipation are growing.”

NRW-funded productions: Ten nominations in total, seven of which are for “Ach, diese Lücke…” alone.
A total of ten nominations go to four productions funded by the Film and Media Foundation NRW, across various categories.

“Ach, diese Lücke, diese entsetzliche Lücke” received seven nominations, including Best Feature Film (Producers: Maren Ade, Jonas Dornbach, Janine Jackowski), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Senta Berger), and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Bruno Alexander). Additional nominations were awarded in the categories of Best Director and Best Screenplay (Simon Verhoeven), Best Supporting Actor (Michael Wittenborn), and Best Sound Design (Eckhard Kuchenbecker, Dominik Schleier, Nico Krebs, Christoph Merkele, Hanse Warns).

Additional nominations have been awarded for Best Visual Effects for both “The School of Magical Animals 4” (Tomer Eshed, Dennis Rettkowski, Frank Kaminski) and “Woodwalkers 2” (Max Riess, Mona Mohr). “Do You Believe in Angels, Mr. Drowak?” is nominated for Best Sound Design (Jaques Kiefer, Tobias Koch, Bertin Molz).

At the awards ceremony on May 29, Wim Wenders will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to German cinema. The Film and Media Foundation NRW has a long-standing and close collaboration with Wim Wenders, including funded projects as well as the joint Wim Wenders grant.

An overview of the nominated films funded by the Film and Media Foundation NRW

• “Oh, This Gap, This Horrible Gap” (Director: Simon Verhoeven, Screenplay: Simon Verhoeven, Co-writer: Lars Hubrich, based on the novel of the same name by Joachim Meyerhoff, Production: Komplizenfilm)
• “The School of Magical Animals 4” (Director: Bernhard Jasper, Screenplay: Mirjam Müntefering, Production: Kordes & Kordes)
• “Do You Believe in Angels, Mr. Drowak?” (Director: Nicolas Steiner, Screenplay: Bettina Gundermann, Pascal Nothdurft, Production: Zieglerfilm)
• “Woodwalkers 2” (Director: Sven Unterwaldt, Screenplay: David Sandreuter, based on the book by Katja Brandis, Production: blue eyes Fiction)

→ You can find an overview of all nominees at www.deutscher-filmpreis.de

The German Film Award will be presented on May 29. The gala, hosted by Christian Friedel, will be broadcast that same evening on Das Erste: starting at 7:00 p.m. as a livestream in the ARD Mediathek and at 10:20 p.m. on Das Erste.