AWARDS Germany
John Rabe leads Lola nominations
by Bénédicte Prot
17/03/2009 - The German Film Academy has chosen the nominees in the 15 Lola German Film Awards categories.
With seven nominations, the front-runner is John Rabe [trailer] by Florian Gallenberger (Shadows of Time), a biopic about the Schindler-like hero of the Nanking Massacre (see news). Starring Ulrich Tukur, Daniel Brühl and Steve Buscemi, the film is currently the subject of a large promotional campaign ahead of its release by Majestic on April 2.
John Rabe will compete for Best Film, alongside Özgür Yildirim’s Chiko [trailer] (also nominated for Best Screenplay); Oscar-winning director Caroline Link’s A Year Ago In Winter [trailer] ; Christian Petzold’s Jerichow [trailer, film focus]; Andreas Dresen’s Cloud Nine [trailer]; and Uli Edel’s The Baader Meinhof Complex [trailer], which was Germany’s nominee for the 2009 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
The latter three films also join Gallenberger’s title in the race for Best Director.
John Rabe star, Tukur, will vie for Best Actor, alongside Josef Bierbichler for his role in Link’s superb A Year Ago In Winter (also nominated for Best Score and Best Editing) and Denis Moschitto for Chiko.
Buscemi will compete for Best Supporting Actor, alongside Andreas Schmidt for Fleisch ist mein Gemüse [trailer] and Rüdiger Vogler for Effi Briest [trailer] (also nominated for Best Costume Design).
John Rabe’s other nominations include Best Cinematography, Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.
The three contenders for the coveted Best Actress title are former Shooting Star Johanna Wokalek for The Baader Meinhof Complex, Ursula Werner for Cloud Nine and Anna Maria Mühe for November Child (also nominated for Best Screenplay).
Battling it out for Best Supporting Actress will be Sophie Rois for The Architect [trailer], Irm Hermann for A Woman In Berlin [trailer] (also nominated for Best Sound) and Susanne Lothar for Fleisch ist mein Gemüse.
Further nominees include North Face (three nominations in the technical categories of Best Cinematography, Best Production Design and Best Sound) and Krabat [trailer] (Best Production Design, Best Score, Best Sound).
The presentation ceremony for the German Film Awards (worth a total of €2,845,000) will be held in Berlin on April 24.
For more information and the list of nominees, visit the German Film Academy website.
(Translated from French)
