Press Release

At today's 45th Bavarian Film Awards ceremony in Munich, filmmakers were honoured with the coveted "Pierrot" in a total of eleven categories. As best actress Hannah Herzsprung was honoured this year for her role in "15 Years". The award in the category Best Film will be announced in a separate press release at the end of the awards gala.

The Prize of the Prime Minister went to actress and producer Veronica Ferres:

Prime Minister Dr Markus Söder: "Film and Ferres are a perfect match. Veronica Ferres stands for top German productions like no other. With the title role in Sönke Wortmann's "Das Superweib" and as "Snow White" in Dietl's "Rossini", she played her way into the hearts of millions of cinema-goers. Over 150 cinema and television productions with world stars such as Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson and Pierce Brosnan speak for themselves. Veronica Ferres makes her audience suffer and laugh along with her. In addition, as a producer based in Munich, she has been developing high-quality cinema and TV material for many years and is also involved in social projects. Congratulations to a great actress and filmmaker."

Justification:

Veronica Ferres impresses as an actress, producer and public figure in equal measure and is an unrivalled ambassador for Bavaria as a film location.

Her stage career has taken her from the Bavarian State Theatre to the Salzburg Festival, where she played the highly acclaimed Buhlschaft in "Jedermann" from 2002 to 2004. Starting with her role in Edgar Reitz's television epic "Die zweite Heimat", she has appeared in more than 150 German and international cinema and TV productions. Her breakthrough on the big screen came in 1992 as Martha in Helmut Dietl's masterpiece "Schtonk!". With the title role in Sönke Wortmann's "Das Superweib" (1996) and as "Snow White" in Dietl's "Rossini" (1997), she played her way into the hearts of millions of cinema-goers. This was followed by further appearances with international stars such as John Malkovich, including in "Klimt" (2006), Nicolas Cage, Robert De Niro and Anthony Hopkins. In 2023, she filmed the western "Unholy Trinity" together with Samuel L. Jackson and Pierce Brosnan.

In 2013, Veronica Ferres founded her own production company Construction Film in Munich, with which she has developed projects with Sandra Bullock and Benedict Cumberbatch, among others. Her social commitment is also consistent, especially for children, which she demonstrates as a book author and patron of numerous aid organisations.

The prize in the category Family Entertainment (endowed with 10,000 euros) went to the megaherz GmbH for the film "Checker Tobi and the Journey to the Flying Rivers".

Jury statement:

How do you turn air into a wonderful cinema film for young and old? "Checker Tobi and the Journey to the Flying Rivers" shows us how in a marvellous way. Checker Tobias Krell and his congenial partner Marina Blanke take us on an exciting scavenger hunt around the world to solve the riddle of a mysterious treasure chest. The producers pack urgent ecological issues of our time into this extremely entertaining framework. It's all about the air and its importance for the planet. It is impressive how the treasure hunters explain the effects of smog on health or the importance of the Brazilian rainforest for the global climate in a child-friendly way. Empathetic, scientifically sound and with really great cinema images, "Checker Tobi and the Journey to the Flying Rivers" is the best infotainment for the whole family!

The price as Best Actress (endowed with 10,000 euros) was awarded to Hannah Herzsprung for her role in "15 Years".

Jury statement:

So now she's back, this Jenny von Leoben, and director Chris Kraus has dedicated another unusual and unforgettable feature film to his unusual female character after "Vier Minuten": it's called "15 Jahre" and, as in the first film, an actress once again forms the powerful centre of this clever story about guilt, fate and failure. Her name, which has long been recognised by anyone who enjoys sophisticated German productions, is Hannah Herzsprung.

At first glance delicate and petite, Hannah Herzsprung develops a radical rage and force in front of the camera that sometimes carries the audience away, sometimes shocks them, but in any case will remain in their memories forever. Her Jenny hits us straight in the heart. This is primarily due to Hannah Herzsprung's acting tour de force. Her enormous expressiveness, her intelligent, finely chiselled acting and her wonderful emotional versatility. I'd love more of it. Again and again.

The price as Best Actor (endowed with 10,000 euros) went to Stefan Gorski for his role in "A Whole Life".

Jury statement:

Robert Seethaler's novel "A Whole Life", published in 2014, is one of the great successes of German-language literature in recent decades: translated into more than 40 languages and shortlisted for the International Booker Prize.

Director Hans Steinbichler has now turned this edgy, concise story with its fascinatingly archaic language into a major feature film of almost biblical force. With awe-inspiring panoramas and life-changing insights. And a leading actor whose unpretentious, unagitated presence inevitably captivated us from his first appearance.
Equipped with an almost indestructible will to live, the character of Andreas Egger suffers a lifelong, arduous journey of passion. Viennese-born Stefan Gorski plays this man of pain in the Alps with vibrant intensity and enormous versatility. His cleverly measured power, emotion and passion leave no viewer in the cinema untouched. Our wish for the future? More of the same, please!

As Best Newcomer Actress (endowed with 10,000 euros) was Bayan Layla was honoured for "Elaha".

Jury statement:

In powerful scenes, the film Elaha by Milena Aboyan tells the story of a young woman's self-discovery in our post-migrant society. The 22-year-old German-Kurdish woman is preparing for her wedding to Nasim, her employer's brother. When it turns out that she is to enter into the marriage as a virgin, she is faced with a problem: she has already had sexual experiences and cannot afford to reconstruct her hymen. In her search for a way out, Elaha begins to question family traditions and expectations and to follow her own needs.

The film thrives on the presence of the young actress Bayan Layla. Born and raised in Syria, she studied at the Bavarian Theatre Academy August Everding at the Prinzregententheater in Munich (the venue of the film award ceremony) from 2019-2023 and has already appeared on stage in Dresden, Berlin and Karlsruhe. With great empathy, Bayan Layla lends the character both fragility and quiet strength. Her courageous and authentic portrayal avoids any clichés and enables the audience to empathise with her situation. With this leading role, which she took on while still a student, Bayan Layla has played her way into the premier league of up-and-coming actresses.

The price Best Young Actor share Tijan Njie and Elan Ben Ali (5,000 euros each) for their roles as disco-pop duo Milli Vanilli in "Girl Your Know It's True".

Jury statement:

In the film "Girl You Know It's True", music producer Frank Farian - wonderfully played by Matthias Schweighöfer - says: "I'm not looking for dancers, nor am I looking for singers. I'm looking for stars!" Director Simon Verhoeven has found such stars for his film in Herford-born Tijan Njie and French-born Elan Ben Ali.

With their infectious passion, their overflowing energy and their touching sensitivity, they bring the disco-pop duo Milli Vanilli back to life and take their audience on this excessive adventure journey full of gigantic stage performances and painful dives into the abysses of show business.

Tijan Njie (playing Rob Pilatus) and Elan Ben Ali (playing Fab Morvan) give their all! Credibly embodied insecurities at the beginning of their careers, poignant dependent closeness to each other, pausing moments of thoughtfulness and self-reflection or even the gigantic stage performance: their acting captivatingly shows the fascinating range of great acting in cinema!

We would like to see many more of these two surprise stars, and as thanks and recognition, the Bavarian Film Award for Best Supporting Actor goes to Tijan Njie and Elan Ben Ali!

The Camera price (endowed with 10,000 euros) was awarded to Daniel Gottschalk for "Home Sweet Home - Where Evil Dwells".

Reason the Jury:

Maria is heavily pregnant and newly engaged to Viktor. They have just moved into his father's remote country house, and as Viktor is staying late at the law firm that evening, Maria spends one of the first evenings in her new home alone. Gradually, strange things start to happen, such as a power cut, vague noises from the cellar and the disappearance of her car keys. Maria increasingly realises that nothing is as it seems and that the onset of her contractions will not be her only problem - a fight for survival begins.

Director and writer Thomas Sieben not only ventures an exciting genre experiment, he also lets us experience Maria's horror in a single tracking shot in real time.

This is largely down to cinematographer Daniel Gottschalk, who visually stages Maria's ordeal up close and atmospherically as a real one-shot film. Perfectly choreographed, Daniel Gottschalk attaches himself to lead actress Nilam Farooq from minute one. The viewer senses a closeness that is unfortunately all too rare in the horror genre and allows us to see and feel Maria's horror intensely at every moment. Seemingly casually, he seamlessly integrates other protagonists into the action via smartphone screen. Where otherwise the editing creates suspense, Daniel Gottschalk decides what we can and cannot see. Daniel Gottschalk deliberately breaks the rules because he is a master of them. And so Daniel Gottschalk also succeeds in meeting the viewing habits and visual language of the "TikTok generation". Daniel Gottschalk delivers almost 90 minutes of high-performance camerawork and leaves us at least as breathless as his main character.

The Director's Award (endowed with 10,000 euros) was awarded to Alireza Golafshan for the film "Alles Fifty Fifty"

Jury statement:

Alireza Golafshan's film "Alles Fifty Fifty" begins in the best screwball comedy style: an overprotective helicopter mother who seems to have inhaled every parenting guide on the market. A father who favours laissez-faire over parenting. What they have in common is that self-centredness is at the top of the agenda. Renunciation at the bottom. And then they are both lawyers. And divorced. From each other.

The best conditions for director and author Alireza Golafshan's wonderfully revealing wordplay duels, about which we not only know after a single scene who we have in front of us, but also what is going wrong in this world. Yes, in our world, because who doesn't recognise themselves or acquaintances or friends in the characters, who also embody the characters of our reality, staged with precision and sensitivity.

Alireza Golafshan stages this story of separation and reunion, of competition and togetherness, in a way that is both unobtrusive and impressive. From the lighting to the production design to the costume design, everything tells of opposites and how they can be overcome, without the film losing any of its lightness.

After all, despite all the comedy, Golafshan never forgets that we want to be touched. He smoothly manages the transition from screwball comedy, in which the words whizz back and forth like a ball on a tennis court, to a quieter pace. Just as the characters change, become aware of their disastrous behavioural patterns and leave them behind, so do the characters. They succeed in freeing themselves from the typical behavioural patterns that make us laugh. They become human beings. And we empathise with them. As human beings.

The Newcomer Director Award (10,000 euros) received Aylin Tezel for "Falling into Place".

Jury statement:

From time to time, one of those rare romantic films appears that touch us deeply and whose profound magic we can no longer escape. "Falling into Place" is one of these films. Once seen, it will not be forgotten.

Kira and Ian, two strangers on the run from their lives, meet by chance on the Isle of Skye and spend a day together. Something special is in the air, but their paths separate and the reality of life returns. But life plays its own game and leads the two of them via detours to exactly where they belong - to each other!

As an actress, Aylin Tezel has created an unusually honest main character. But that is by no means all. She wrote the screenplay, directed and co-produced the film. Aylin Tezel has directed a tender film about life, about the transience of the moment and about the steadfastness of love.

With sensitive acting by the great ensemble, precise image design and almost magical lighting as well as the fine interplay of editing and music, Aylin Tezel has succeeded in making an impressive debut film that touched us deeply.

The Documentary Film Award (endowed with 10,000 euros) went this year to Steffi Niederzoll for "Seven Winters in Tehran".

Jury statement:

In "Seven Winters in Tehran", Steffi Niederzoll tells the tragic story of the young Iranian woman Reyhaneh Jabbari, who stabbed a man in self-defence in 2007 and was sentenced to death for it.

The film highlights one of the thousands of stories of the #MeToo movement that unfortunately happen every day around the world. The filmmaker and her team immerse themselves in a foreign culture and language with dedication to expose the injustices of the Iranian legal system. The film fascinates through the skilful integration of various sound materials, which together with the visualisation combine to create a unique work of art.

"Seven Winters in Tehran" is not only a testimony to the struggle of women for their rights, but also a powerful and breathtaking cinema film.

The Screenplay Award (endowed with 10,000 euros) was awarded to Martin Rauhaus for "Weißt du noch".

Jury statement:

The elderly couple Marianne, played excellently by Senta Berger, and Günter, played congenially by Günther Maria Halmer, have been married for decades. Their grown-up children have long since moved out. The wedding anniversary is coming up, but is more or less forgotten, like many other things that have been lost or emotionally buried over time. A miracle pill is supposed to help against forgetting and monotony, but it only works for a short time.

The film "Weißt du noch", directed by Rainer Kaufmann and written by Martin Rauhaus, is an intense intimate play that shows just over 24 hours in the lives of Marianne and Günter and deals with everything that could make up the life of a typical family in Germany. Pent-up resentment, disappointment, boredom, silence, but then also tender moments looking back (thanks to the miracle pill) are packed for us as observers into razor-sharp dialogue and meaningful images that take us on an emotional journey through a married life. We smile, laugh and feel the pain and anger of the two protagonists. Martin Rauhaus has managed to transform this life, which is entering the home straight and consists mainly of retrospection, into a fascinating and highly emotional rollercoaster. The author works masterfully with pointed dialogues and thus gives us an intense insight into the complexity of the two characters. His observations seem to have been taken straight from life and are characterised by a high level of intensity and density that captivates the reader.

The Bavarian Film Prize has been awarded since 1979. It is one of the most prestigious and best endowed awards in the German film industry. The Bavarian Film Prize is endowed with prize money totalling 300,000 euros and is awarded in a total of eleven categories on the recommendation of an eleven-member jury of experts. The nominations for "Best Film" are endowed with 50,000 euros each, while the winning film receives prize money totalling 100,000 euros.

Members of the 2023 jury are: Dagmar Biller, Daniel Curio (Chair), Kai Erfurt, Dorothee Erpenstein, Dr Ulrike Frick, Prof Dr Barbara Gronau, Michael Hilscher, Narges Kalhor, Prof Michaela Kezele, Prof Bettina Reitz, Bettina Ricklefs.

Source: Press release