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OSCARS 2019 Germany

Never Look Away sets its sights on the Best Foreign-language Oscar

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- After winning the coveted Academy Award in 2007 for The Lives of Others, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck is representing Germany again for the nominations

Never Look Away sets its sights on the Best Foreign-language Oscar
Never Look Away by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

As his new film, Never Look Away [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Florian Henckel von Donners…
film profile
]
, is about to world-premiere as one of the contenders for this year's Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, after which it will screen at Toronto as a Special Presentation, German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, widely celebrated for the riveting Stasi-themed The Lives of Others [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Florian Henckel von Donners…
interview: Ulrich Muehe
film profile
]
 – which won, amongst many other prizes, the 2007 Oscar for Best Foreign-language Film, the second and last (to date) for Germany after the triumph of Caroline Link's Nowhere in Africa [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 in 2002 – has been chosen to represent his country again in the Oscar race.

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Never Look Away starts off as a love story between two students, young artist Kurt (Tom Schilling, of Oh Boy [+see also:
trailer
interview: Jan Ole Gerster
film profile
]
 fame) and Ellie (Paula Beer), which is made more complicated by the ferocious reluctance of her father, Carl (Sebastian Koch, the playwright under surveillance in The Lives of Others), a successful doctor. However, things turn darker as a terrible crime from the past linking the fates of all three characters resurfaces.

The film, chosen by an independent jury gathering together the representatives of eight German film associations, under the supervision of German Films (which was therefore not part of the vote), was one of 11 potential candidates short-listed for the honour of being presented to the Academy, alongside such titles as this year's big winner at the German Lolas, Emily Atef’s 3 Days in Quiberon [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emily Atef
film profile
]
Thomas Stuber’s In the Aisles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Franz Rogowski
interview: Thomas Stuber
film profile
]
Markus Goller’s My Brother Simple [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Lars Kraume’s impressive The Silent Revolution [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Ali Soozandeh’s animated title Tehran Taboo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ali Soozandeh
film profile
]
 and Christian Petzold’s Transit [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christian Petzold
interview: Franz Rogowski
film profile
]
.

Henckel von Donnersmarck's new feature was produced by Pergamon Film and Wiedemann & Berg Film (also the producers of The Lives of Others) in co-production with Beta Cinema (also the film’s sales agent) and ARD Degeto/BR and in cooperation with Sky Germany and ARTE, with funding from the German Federal Film Fund, the Czech Film Fund, and several German regional funds. Beta has already sold Never Look Away in over 60 territories, including Spain, Italy, France, the UK, Latin America and the USA (where it will be released by Sony Pictures Classics). In Germany, the film will be brought to theatres by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Germany

The nominees for the 91st Academy Awards will be revealed on 22 January, and the glamorous ceremony itself will take place on 24 February.

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