Andreas Dresen triumphs at the Lolas

by Bénédicte Prot

30/04/2012 - Friday (April 27) night’s Lolas-German Film Awards saw the undisputed victory of the deeply moving Stopped on Track [trailer] by Andreas Dresen, who had already been crowned by the jury of the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes last year (see the review). This harrowing film, produced by Rommel Film, which follows a terminally ill person and his family in the difficult time leading up to death with sobre and yet unrelenting realism, won the Golden Lola for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Milan Peschel) and the Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Otto Mellies).

The challenger, Barbara [trailer, film focus] by Christian Petzold, which was in the running in eight categories, had a repeat of its fate in Berlin by only bringing home one award, nonetheless a very respectable one: the Silver Lola. In Berlin, where it was the big favourite, the film had brought home the Silver Bear for Best Director.

However, one film discreetly continues to stand out: David Wnendt’s Kriegerin [trailer], about the context and the nature of two young girls’ adherence to a neo-Nazism verging on depraved violence. Out on German screens on January 19 through Ascot Elite and sold by Viennese company EastWest Filmdistribution, the film made a good return on its three nominations by sweeping the bronze Lola for Best Film, the award for Best Screenplay (David Wnendt) and the award for Best Actress (Alina Levshin).

It was also a full sweep in the technical categories of this edition of the Lolas, dominated by a handful of titles. Shakespearean hypotheses Anonymous [trailer] by Roland Emmerich (see the review) came back with the most trophies, six in all: photography, editing, décor, costumes, hair and make-up, and sound.

ALL THE WINNERS OF THE LOLAS-GERMAN FILM AWARDS 2012

Golden Lola for Best Film:
Pour lui by Andreas Dresen

Silver Lola for Best Film:
Barbara de Christian Petzold

Bronze Lola for Best Film:
Kriegerin by David Wnendt

Best Documentary :
Gerhard Richter Painting by Corinna Belz

Best Children’s Film :
Wintertochter by Johannes Schmid

Best Screenplay :
David Wnendt for Kriegerin

Best Director :
Andreas Dresen for Pour lui

Best Actress :
Alina Levshin in Kriegerin

Best Actor :
Milan Peschel in Pour lui

Best Actress in a Supporting Role :
Dagmar Manzel in Die Unsichtbare [trailer] by Christian Schwochow

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
Otto Mellies in Pour lui

Photography :
Anna J. Foerster for Anonymous

Editing:
Peter R. Adam for Anonymous

Decor :
Sebastian Krawinkel for Anonymous

Costumes :
Lisy Christl for Anonymous

Hair and Make-up :
Björn Rehbein and Heike Merker for Anonymous

Best Music :
Lorenz Dangel for Hell [trailer] by Tim Fehlbaum Best Sound :
Hubert Bartholomae and Manfred Banach for Anonymous

Prix d'honneur :
For head cameraman Michael Ballhaus

Bernd Eichinger Award:
Michael "Bully" Herbig

(Translated from French)