09/02/2013 - Post-war drama Freistatt wins prestigious prize

For their script Freistatt [+see also:
trailer
interview: Louis Hofmann
film profile], German writers Nicole Armbruster and Marc Brummund received the German Script Award 2013, which was presented at the Berlinale reception of the German Screenwriters' Guild.

The prize was awarded by Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media in Germany Bernd Neumann. "The writers portrayed the suffering of an institutionalized child in post-war Germany who becomes a subject and object of an imperious and brutal system of compulsion," Neumann said. "The script also facilitates the audience the possibility of friendship, resistance and gives the audience hope that even in unhuman conditions the dignity of the people is invulnerable."

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The award includes prize money of €10,000 as well as development support up to €20,000. "A good script is very essential so that great films can be made," Neumann added. "Script support is one of the main tasks of the federal film funding in Germany. Therefore we etablished a drama department in 2002 where we mentor and advise the writers and help them to find a producer."