27/06/2022 - A total of nine prizes have gone to the biopic of GDR author Thomas Brasch, directed by Andreas Kleinert and starring Albrecht Schuch in the main role

Director Andreas Kleinert with his Golden Lola for Best Film for Dear Thomas (© Eventpress)

German Culture Minister Claudia Roth joined the two presidents of the Deutsche Filmakademie, actors Alexandra Maria Lara and Florian Gallenberger, at the 72^nd edition of the Lolas in order to hand out this year’s awards. The ceremony for the most prestigious and most highly endowed prize for German film was conducted in a solemn atmosphere, and the event was used by Roth as a platform to remind everyone of the difficult times we live in: “It is the authors, the directors, the actors and actresses, the producers, the editors and the many other trades who, with their valuable work, ensure that the horror of war and terror does not remain nameless. Here, we can, and must, provide assistance from Germany with the help of art and culture, beyond the question of heavy weapons. That is why we will, in future, support a German Film Academy scholarship programme for Ukrainian filmmakers with funds from the culture budget.”

This year’s prize ceremony took place in Berlin and was hosted by entertainer, actress and author Katrin Bauerfeind, known for her appearances in several German TV shows and productions. The organiser is the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), which provides prizes totalling €3 million, spread across 20 different categories.

No fewer than nine awards went to Dear Thomas [+see also:
film review
interview: Andreas Kleinert
film profile] by Andreas Kleinert. This biopic of one of the most legendary authors of the GDR has proven very successful at the German box office. The black-and-white movie won over the members of the academy and scooped the Golden Lolas in the categories of Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Leading Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Production Design and Best Costumes. The leading role is played by German actor Albrecht Schuch, who has recently been enjoying a considerable boost to his career: among his latest productions are Fabian – Going to the Dogs [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albrecht Schuch
film profile] by Dominik Graf, The Royal Game [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Philipp Stölz and Berlin Alexanderplatz [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Burhan Qurbani
film profile] by Burhan Qurbani. Best Supporting Actress was deemed to be Jella Haase, whose recent career trajectory has been similarly exceptional. Her filmography includes Berlin Alexanderplatz, Cocoon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Leonie Krippendorff and Caged Birds [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Oliver Rihs
film profile] by Oliver Rihs.

The Silver Lola for Best Feature Film went to Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andreas Dresen
interview: Meltem Kaptan
film profile] by Andreas Dresen. The mixture of tragicomedy and political thriller about Turkish-German man Murat Kurnaz, who was imprisoned at Guantanamo after the 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers, won two more prizes. They were the Golden Lola for Best Leading Actress, which went to Meltem Kaptan (who plays Rabiye Kurnaz, the mother of the inmate), and the Golden Lola for Best Supporting Actor, for Alexander Scheer.

The Bronze Lola as well as the Award for Best Make-up went to Great Freedom [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sebastian Meise
film profile] by Sebastian Meise. As for Best Documentary, rising above the other nominees, which included We Are All Detroit by Michael Loeken and Ulrike Franke, and Wem gehört mein Dorf by Christoph Eder, was Antonia Kilian's The Other Side of the River [+see also:
trailer
interview: Antonia Kilian
film profile]. Furthermore, The Path by Tobias Wiemann received the Lola for Best Children's Film of the Year.

Further Lolas are given out for Best Sound and Best Original Music Score. While the former award went to the sound designers of No One's with the Calves [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sabrina Sarabi
film profile] by Sabrina Sarabi, the latter was awarded to Wunderschön, the directorial debut by German actress Karoline Herfurth, and composer Annette Focks.

This year's Honorary Award for Outstanding Contributions to German Cinema went to Jürgen Jürges. The German cinematographer can look back on an impressive career that started in the late 1960s. One of his latest works is DAU. Natasha [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ilya Khrzhanovskiy
film profile] by Ilya Khrzhanovskiy and Jekaterina Oertel. Finally, one last prize, the Award for the Highest-grossing Film of the Year, was given to the children's flick School of Magical Animals [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Gregor Schnitzler.

Here is the full list of winners at the 2022 Lolas-German Film Awards:

Golden Lola for Best Film
Dear Thomas [+see also:
film review
interview: Andreas Kleinert
film profile] – Andreas Kleinert

Silver Lola
Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andreas Dresen
interview: Meltem Kaptan
film profile] - Andreas Dresen (Germany/France)

Bronze Lola
Great Freedom [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sebastian Meise
film profile] - Sebastian Meise (Austria/Germany)

Best Documentary
The Other Side of the River [+see also:
trailer
interview: Antonia Kilian
film profile] – Antonia Kilian (Germany/Finland)

Best Children's Film
The Path – Tobias Wiemann (Germany/Spain)

Best Director
Andreas Kleinert – Dear Thomas

Best Screenplay
Thomas Wendrich – Dear Thomas

Best Leading Actress
Meltem Kaptan – Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush

Best Leading Actor
Albrecht Schuch – Dear Thomas

Best Supporting Actress
Jella Haase – Dear Thomas

Best Supporting Actor
Alexander Scheer – Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush

Best Cinematography
Johann Feindt – Dear Thomas

Best Editing
Gisela Zick – Dear Thomas

Best Sound
Jonathan Schorr, Dominik Leube, Gregor Bonse, John Gürtler – No One's with the Calves [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sabrina Sarabi
film profile]

Best Original Music Score
Annette Focks - Wunderschön

Best Production Design
Myrna Drews – Dear Thomas

Best Costumes
Anne-Gret Oehme – Dear Thomas

Best Make-up
Heiko Schmidt, Kerstin Gaecklein, Roman Braunhofer – Great Freedom

Best Visual Effects and Animation
Dennis Rettkowski, Markus Frank, Tomer Eshed – School of Magical Animals [+see also:
trailer
film profile]

Award for the Highest-grossing Film of the Year
School of Magical Animals – Gregor Schnitzler

Honorary Award for Outstanding Contributions to German Cinema
Jürgen Jürges