| German Film Award | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awarded for | Best in cinema |
| Country | Germany |
| Presented by | Deutsche Filmakademie |
| First award | 1951 |
| Website | deutscher-filmpreis |
TheGerman Film Award (German:Deutscher Filmpreis), also known asLola after its prize statuette, is the national film award ofGermany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in theGerman film industry. Besides being the most importantfilm award in Germany, it is also the most highly endowed German cultural award, with cash prizes in its current 20 categories totalling nearly three million euros.
From 1951 to 2004 it was awarded by acommission, but since 2005 the award has been organized by the German Film Academy (Deutsche Filmakademie). The Federal Commissioner for Cultural and Media Affairs has been responsible for the administration of the prize since 1999. The awards ceremony is traditionally held inBerlin.
The award was created in 1951 by theFederal Ministry of the Interior and was first given out during theBerlin Film Festival. A practice that was kept for the upcoming decades. Since 1999 it is commissioned by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
In the first years the awards had numerous trophies that were handed out for different categories. Aside from the main categories for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay most others from the inaugural edition have been short lived such asFilm that promote democratic values due to the constant change of the awards constitution in the early years.[1] As a rule stated that awards would only be awarded for outstanding achievements, not every category had a winner each year. Over time, the award in the shape of a film tape became the most common trophy, either in gold or silver. The Golden Bowl became the highest honour for Best Picture, however due to not being handed out for more than 17 years, the award was abolished in 1996.
Due to the confusing mechanism as well as changing categories, the award lost its relevance. With only a press conference and no televised broadcast, it did not attract the public's interest inWest Germany. Since the reunification of Germany in 1990, constants efforts have been made to underline the award's significance as a national correlation to similar awards honours such as theAcademy Awards or theCésars. In 1995 for the first time, winners were announced during a glamorous telecast inFriedrichstadt-Palast, one of the most prestigious venues of formerEast-Berlin.[2] In the following years, other locations were chosen that were symbolic for the once divided city such as theBerlin Tempelhof Airport[3] or theBrandenburg Gate.[4]
Since 1999, the various category winners are awarded a statuette, the LOLA. The name refers toMarlene Dietrich's role inDer blaue Engel,Rainer Werner Fassbinder's filmLola andTom Tykwer's very successful movieLola rennt.
Mechthild Schmidt, Partner of HouseWorks digital media, New York about her 1999 design: "I wanted to symbolize motion. Film IS movement. I wanted the statue to express confidence without being stern, strength without being static. It was important to me to give the "Deutschen Filmpreis" its own identity, not trying to borrow what other awards already successfully symbolize. While the Oscar is the strong, firm standing fighter and winner, I wanted the Filmprize statue to symbolize the dynamics of movement, the muse, the inspiration necessary to make a work of art, to become a winner. The movement is carried through to the asymmetrical conical base.Stylistically, I was looking for a timeless modern design as well as a historical reference to the first golden era of German film, the Art Deco in the 1920s."[5]
From 1999 to 2002 the show was televised by a private broadcasterProSieben.[6] Since 2003 it has rotated each year between the two major German public broadcastersARD andZDF.
Before the founding of the German Film Academy (Deutsche Filmakademie) in 2005 a single prize was awarded for the technical categories ofcinematography,film editing,production design,art direction andmusical score in the category "Outstanding Singular Achievement".
Borrowing from the American model, the awards have been made by an academy, the Deutsche Filmakademie, since 2005. The academy replaces a much-criticisedjury which was constituted according to the principle of political proportionality, and on which politicians andclergymen also sat. Now the jury consists of specialised members from of the German Film Academy.
The selection process has three main steps:
Nominations are decided by a pre-determined jury from each branch. Except for the film categories, usually three nominees are announced. More nominees are allowed in case of a tie. The nominations for the film categories are endowed with 100.000 Euro (Documentary), 125.000 Euro (Best Children's Film) and 250.000 Euro (Feature Film). Winners in each individual categories get 10.000 Euro, whereas the main winner in the Film category gets 500.000 Euro (including the nomination reward). The Best Film category features six nominees with the three most voted winning a bronze, silver and gold award respectively.
| Film | Year | Noms. | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Quiet on the Western Front | 2023 | 12 | 8 |
| The White Ribbon | 2010 | 13 | 10 |
| The Devil Strikes at Night | 1958 | — | 10 |
| Good Bye Lenin! | 2003[a] | 10 | 9[b] |
| System Crasher | 2020 | 10 | 8 |
| The Dark Valley | 2015 | 9 | 8 |
| The Lives of Others | 2006 | 11 | 7 |
| 3 Days in Quiberon | 2018 | 10 | 7 |
| Run Lola Run | 1999 | 6 | 7[c] |
| Go for Zucker! | 2005 | 10 | 6 |
| Gundermann | 2019 | 10 | 6 |
| The People vs. Fritz Bauer | 2016 | 9 | 6 |
| A Coffee in Berlin | 2013 | 8 | 6 |
| Perfume: The Story of a Murderer | 2007 | 8 | 6 |
| Victoria | 2015 | 7 | 6 |
| Anonymous | 2012 | 7 | 6 |
| Toni Erdmann | 2017 | 6 | 6 |
| The Wrong Move | 1975 | — | 6 |
| The Bread of Those Early Years | 1962 | — | 6 |
| The Captain from Köpenick | 1957 | — | 6 |
Four awards won
Three awards won
| Actor | Awards won | Leading | Supporting | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Götz George | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1[f] |
| Albrecht Schuch | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
| Irm Hermann | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1[g] |
| Sandra Hüller | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Eva Mattes | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1[h] |
| Katja Riemann | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Hanna Schygulla | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1[i] |
| Barbara Sukowa | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| Mario Adorf | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1[j] |
| Moritz Bleibtreu | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Klaus Maria Brandauer | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Daniel Brühl | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Edith Clever | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Justus von Dohnányi | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Hannelore Elsner | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| O.W. Fischer | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Martina Gedeck | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Walter Giller | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Michael Gwisdek | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Fritzi Haberlandt | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Sibel Kekilli | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Peter Kern | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1[k] |
| Nastassja Kinski | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1[l] |
| Burghart Klaußner | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Joachim Król | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Frederick Lau | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Hanns Lothar | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Hannes Messemer | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Uwe Ochsenknecht | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Gerhard Olschewski | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Lena Stolze | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Lilli Palmer | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Sophie Rois | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Heinz Rühmann | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Christine Schorn | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Maria Schrader | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Sigfrit Steiner | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Laura Tonke | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Ulrich Tukur | 2 | 1 | 1 |
