# Great Freedom

Great Freedom (German: Große Freiheit) is a 2021 drama film directed by Sebastian Meise [de]. In June 2021, the film was selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. At Cannes, the film won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section. It won the Golden Giraldillo at the Seville European Film Festival. It was selected as the Austrian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, and on 22 December 2021, it was shortlisted for the award ceremony.
The film was released theatrically on 18 November 2021 in Germany by Piffl Medien and the following day in Austria by Filmladen Filmverleih.

## Plot

In post-World War II West Germany, Hans is imprisoned by the post war government having previously been imprisoned in a concentration camp for infringing the Nazi anti-gay laws, which are still on the statute. Hans develops a relationship with his cellmate Viktor, a convicted murderer.

## Cast

* Franz Rogowski as Hans Hoffmann
* Georg Friedrich as Viktor Kohl
* Anton von Lucke [de] as Leo
* Thomas Prenn [de] as Oskar

## Reception
### Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 60 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With intelligence and sensitivity, Great Freedom draws on past injustices to present a beautifully crafted tribute to the persistence of the human spirit" On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 89 out of 100, based on 18 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

### Awards and nominations

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| Diagonale | 13 June 2021 | Diagonale Actor Award | Georg Friedrich | Won |
| Diagonale | 13 June 2021 | Diagonale Award for Best Camera | Crystel Fournier | Won |
| Diagonale | 13 June 2021 | VAM Award for Outstanding Production Achievement | Sabine Moser and Oliver Neumann | Won |
| Diagonale | 13 June 2021 | Diagonale Award for Best Editing | Joana Scrinzi | Won |
| Cannes Film Festival | 17 July 2021 | Un Certain Regard Jury Prize | Sebastian Meise | Won |
| Cannes Film Festival | 17 July 2021 | Queer Palm | Sebastian Meise | Won |
| Sarajevo Film Festival | 20 August 2021 | Heart of Sarajevo - Best Film | Great Freedom | Won |
| Sarajevo Film Festival | 20 August 2021 | CICAE Award | Great Freedom | Won |
| Sarajevo Film Festival | 20 August 2021 | Heart of Sarajevo - Best Actor | Georg Friedrich | Won |
| Festival du nouveau cinéma | 18 October 2021 | International Competition, Grand Prize | Sebastian Meise | Won |
| Chicago International Film Festival | 24 October 2021 | Gold Q-Hugo | Great Freedom | Won |
| Vienna International Film Festival | 31 October 2021 | Best Feature | Great Freedom | Won |
| Vienna International Film Festival | 31 October 2021 | ExtraVALUE Film Award - Best Feature Film | Great Freedom | Won |
| Seville European Film Festival | 13 November 2021 | Golden Giraldillo Award for Best Film | Great Freedom | Won |
| Seville European Film Festival | 13 November 2021 | ASECAN Award | Sebastian Meise | Won |
| Seville European Film Festival | 13 November 2021 | Best Actor | Franz Rogowski | Won |
| Zagreb Film Festival | 21 November 2021 | Golden Pram - Best Feature Film | Great Freedom | Won |
| Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | 28 November 2021 | DDA Spotlight Award | Great Freedom | Won |
| European Film Awards | 11 December 2021 | Best Actor | Franz Rogowski | Nominated |
| European Film Awards | 11 December 2021 | Best Composer | Nils Petter Molvaer and Peter Brötzmann | Won |
| European Film Awards | 11 December 2021 | Best Cinematographer | Crystel Fournier | Won |
| European Film Awards | 11 December 2021 | European University Film Award | Great Freedom | Nominated |
| Austrian Film Awards | 30 June 2022 | Best Feature Film | Sabine Moser, Oliver Neumann, Benny Drechsel, Sebastian Meise | Won |
| Austrian Film Awards | 30 June 2022 | Best Director | Sebastian Meise | Won |
| Austrian Film Awards | 30 June 2022 | Best Actor | Georg Friedrich | Won |
| Austrian Film Awards | 30 June 2022 | Best Actor | Franz Rogowski | Nominated |
| Austrian Film Awards | 30 June 2022 | Best Supporting Actor | Thomas Prenn | Won |
| Austrian Film Awards | 30 June 2022 | Best Screenplay | Thomas Reider and Sebastian Meise | Won |
| Austrian Film Awards | 30 June 2022 | Best Cinematography | Crystel Fournier | Won |
| Austrian Film Awards | 30 June 2022 | Best Make-Up | Heiko Schmidt, Roman Braunhofer and Kerstin Gaecklein | Won |
| Austrian Film Awards | 30 June 2022 | Best Music | Peter Brötzmann and Nils Petter Molvaer | Nominated |
| Austrian Film Awards | 30 June 2022 | Best Editing | Joana Scrinzi | Won |
| German Film Awards | 24 June 2022 | Best Film | Benny Drechsel, Sabine Moser and Oliver Neumann | Won |
| German Film Awards | 24 June 2022 | Best Director | Sebastian Meise | Nominated |
| German Film Awards | 24 June 2022 | Best Actor | Franz Rogowski | Nominated |
| German Film Awards | 24 June 2022 | Best Screenplay | Thomas Reider, Sebastian Meise | Nominated |
| German Film Awards | 24 June 2022 | Best Cinematography | Crystel Fournier | Nominated |
| German Film Awards | 24 June 2022 | Best Editing | Joana Scrinzi | Nominated |
| German Film Awards | 24 June 2022 | Best Costume Design | Tanja Hausner, Andrea Hölzl | Nominated |
| German Film Awards | 24 June 2022 | Best Make-Up | Heiko Schmidt, Roman Braunhofer and Kerstin Gaecklein | Won |
| Deutscher Schauspielpreis | 9 September 2022 | Best Actor in a Dramatic Leading Role | Franz Rogowski | Won |
| Deutscher Schauspielpreis | 9 September 2022 | Best Actor in a Dramatic Supporting Role | Georg Friedrich | Nominated |
| European Film Awards | 10 December 2022 | Lux Award | Great Freedom | Nominated |