Til Schweiger to receive the Herbert Strate Prize 2014

27.10.2014

Award for his commitment to German cinema
Jury motivation: „Passionate film-maker who has shaped filmed entertainment anew…his films show familiarity with genre and lightness of touch“
Film- und Medienstiftung NRW and HDF Kino e.V. have been awarding the prize since 2004
Presentation on November 4 during the Cinema Programming Awards in Cologne

Til Schweiger, one of the most successful German actors, producers and directors, will be presented with the Herbert Strate Prize in Cologne on November 4. Since 2004, the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW and HDF Kino e.V. have been presenting their joint award to those people, who, like the name giver, have served German cinema in a particular way. The € 20,000 Herbert Strate Prize is presented during the ceremony of the Cinema Programming Awards where the Film-und Medienstiftung NRW recognises outstanding cinemas from the region.

This year’s jury for the Herbert Strate Prize comprised Petra Müller, CEO of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Dr. Thomas Negele, board chairman of HDF Kino e.V., and the exhibitor Margarete Papenhoff. From the jury’s motivation: „There is hardly any other German film-maker who attracted as many people into the cinemas as Til Schweiger – whether it is as an actor, director, producer or screenwriter. His versatility is his trademark. He is a passionate film-maker who has shaped German filmed entertainment anew. His films always show familarity with genre and lightness of touch, they move the audiences and ensure full cinemas. And they make stars: Til Schweiger discovered numerous faces of German cinema early on and built them up, ranging from Johanna Wokalek and Matthias Schweighöfer to Farih Yardim. As a producer, he has played a crucial role in the growing success of the German film industry in the past 15 years.“

Til Schweiger was born in Freiburg in 1963 and raised near Gießen. After his school-leaving examinations, he studied German and later Medicine, but then dropped them both to attend the acting school of Cologne’s Der Keller theatre. His first stage experience was at the Contra-Kreis Theatre in Bonn before he was cast by Horst D. Scheel as Jo Zenker in the ARD „Lindenstraße“ series and thus became known to a larger audience. He had his first film part in 1991 with the comedy „Manta, Manta“. The breakthrough followed in 1994 with his role in „Maybe, Maybe Not“ („Der bewegte Mann“). Numerous roles, including international ones such as in Quentin Tarantino’s „Inglorious Basterds“ (2009), followed. Til Schweiger has also been a „Tatort“ detective in Hamburg since last year.

Apart from his acting career, Schweiger has increasingly aspired to realise his own film projects. In 1996, he founded the production company, Mr. Brown Entertainment, which immediately scored a major success in 1997 with „Knockin' on Heaven’s Door“. The film „Barefoot“ („Barfuss“, 2005) was the first time that Schweiger not only wrote the screenplay and played the lead, but also served as the director and producer. He founded Barefoot Films for this film and has since produced his own films through this company. „Rabbit Without Ears“ („Keinohrhasen“ , 2007), Rabbit Without Ears 2“ („Zweiohrküken“, 2009), „Kokowääh“ (2011) and „Kokowääh 2“ (2013) were further productions and directorial works by the multi-talent Schweiger, all of them being giant successes at the box office. With the action thriller „Guardians“ („Schutzengel“), Schweiger delivered proof in 2012 that he also has an instinct for exciting stories outside of the comedy genre.

With its prize, the Filmstiftung NRW and HDF Kino e.V. remember the exhibitor Herbert Strate, who died in 2004 at the age of 82 and had made a major contribution to German cinema as the president of the FFA and the Hauptverband deutscher Filmtheater over many years. The previous winners of the Strate Prize were: Sönke Wortmann (2004), Tom Tykwer (2005), Uschi Reich and Heiko R. Blum (both 2006), Günter Lamprecht (2007), Jürgen Vogel and Rolf Bähr (both 2008), Senta Berger and Michael Verhoeven (both 2009), Wim Wenders (2010), Dieter Kosslick (2011), Steffen Kuchenreuther (2012) and Margarethe von Trotta (2013).