The life of the playwright Thomas Brasch, Andreas Dresen's treatment of the Kurnaz case and a drama about the “gay paragraph” compete for Lola in the main categories.
In the biopic “Lieber Thomas” Albrecht Schuch (here with Jella Haase) plays the East German poet Thomas Brasch
As the most promising favorite for the Lola, the German Film Prize, “Dear Thomas” is entering the race this year. The film biography about the poet Thomas Brasch has been nominated in twelve categories, including best film, best screenplay, best director and with Albrecht Schuch (“Bad Banks”, “Fabian oder Der Gang vor den Hunde”) for best male lead.
The film traces Brasch's rise to become a writer who is reaching the limits of freedom in the GDR's political system. When he protested against the suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968, he ended up in prison. In 1976 he moved to the West.
The tragic comedy “Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush” by director Andreas Dresen received ten nominations. Leading actress Meltem Kaptan and screenwriter Laila Stieler had already been awarded Silver Bears at the Berlinale in February and can now also hope for Lola.
Filmmaker Dresen is nominated for best director, Alexander Scheer (“Gundermann”) for best supporting role. In addition, “Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush” is among the nominees for best feature film. The film tells the story of Murat Kurnaz, a German imprisoned in Guantanamo on suspicion of being a terrorist, from the perspective of his mother Rabiye, who campaigns like a lioness for her son's release.
Homosexual among murderers
The German-Austrian co-production “Great Freedom”, which received a jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival last year, received eight nominations for the German Film Prize. The film by Sebastian Meise accompanies the homosexual Hans, who was in a concentration camp during World War II and in post-war Germany repeatedly ended up in prison with murderers – because paragraph 175, which was only abolished in 1994 – contemptuously called “gay paragraph” – punishes sexual acts between men .
Meltem Kaptan has good prospects for Lola after her success at the Berlinale
The list of nominees in the Best Feature Film category is completed by “Beauty”, “Contra” and the international co-production “Spencer” about Princess Diana, who decides to separate from Prince Charles during a Christmas party. “Spencer”, largely ignored at numerous award ceremonies, was filmed in Brandenburg, among other places.
Breaks in the documentary
Three films are competing for the Lola for the best documentary: “We Are All Detroit” traces the parallels and dependencies between Bochum in the Ruhr area and the US industrial city of Detroit, whose auto industry is facing previously unforeseen challenges at the turn of the century.
“The Other Side of the River” portrays a 19-year-old who first evades patriarchy in order to then fight with a female defense unit against the terrorist militia IS. “Who owns my village” accompanies a citizens' initiative which opposes the plans of a construction investor to protect a nature reserve on Rügen.
Prize of Honor: Jürgen Jürges implemented Fassbinder's ideas visually
The film awards will be presented on June 24, 2022. The honorary award winner has already been decided: The cameraman Jürgen Jürges is being honored for his life's work. Jürges shot with directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders and Volker Schlöndorff and was a founding member of the German Film Academy. In 2020 he was involved in the filming of Ilja Chrschanowski's Dau project.