# German Film Award

The German Film Award (German: Deutscher Filmpreis), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the German film industry. Besides being the most important film award in Germany, it is also the most highly endowed German cultural award, with cash prizes in its current 20 categories totalling nearly three million euros.
From 1951 to 2004 it was awarded by a commission, but since 2005 the award has been organized by the German Film Academy (Deutsche Filmakademie). The Federal Commissioner for Cultural and Media Affairs has been responsible for the administration of the prize since 1999. The awards ceremony is traditionally held in Berlin.

## History

The award was created in 1951 by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and was first given out during the Berlin Film Festival. A practice that was kept for the upcoming decades. Since 1999 it is commissioned by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
In the first years the awards had numerous trophies that were handed out for different categories. Aside from the main categories for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay most others from the inaugural edition have been short lived such as Film that promote democratic values due to the constant change of the awards constitution in the early years. As a rule stated that awards would only be awarded for outstanding achievements, not every category had a winner each year. Over time, the award in the shape of a film tape became the most common trophy, either in gold or silver. The Golden Bowl became the highest honour for Best Picture, however due to not being handed out for more than 17 years, the award was abolished in 1996.
Due to the confusing mechanism as well as changing categories, the award lost its relevance. With only a press conference and no televised broadcast, it did not attract the public's interest in West Germany. Since the reunification of Germany in 1990, constants efforts have been made to underline the award's significance as a national correlation to similar awards honours such as the Academy Awards or the Césars. In 1995 for the first time, winners were announced during a glamorous telecast in Friedrichstadt-Palast, one of the most prestigious venues of former East-Berlin. In the following years, other locations were chosen that were symbolic for the once divided city such as the Berlin Tempelhof Airport or the Brandenburg Gate.
Since 1999, the various category winners are awarded a statuette, the LOLA. The name refers to Marlene Dietrich's role in Der blaue Engel, Rainer Werner Fassbinder's film Lola and Tom Tykwer's very successful movie Lola rennt.
Mechthild Schmidt, Partner of HouseWorks digital media, New York about her 1999 design: "I wanted to symbolize motion. Film IS movement. I wanted the statue to express confidence without being stern, strength without being static. It was important to me to give the "Deutschen Filmpreis" its own identity, not trying to borrow what other awards already successfully symbolize. While the Oscar is the strong, firm standing fighter and winner, I wanted the Filmprize statue to symbolize the dynamics of movement, the muse, the inspiration necessary to make a work of art, to become a winner. The movement is carried through to the asymmetrical conical base. Stylistically, I was looking for a timeless modern design as well as a historical reference to the first golden era of German film, the Art Deco in the 1920s."
From 1999 to 2002 the show was televised by a private broadcaster ProSieben. Since 2003 it has rotated each year between the two major German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF.
Before the founding of the German Film Academy (Deutsche Filmakademie) in 2005 a single prize was awarded for the technical categories of cinematography, film editing, production design, art direction and musical score in the category "Outstanding Singular Achievement".

## Selection process

Borrowing from the American model, the awards have been made by an academy, the Deutsche Filmakademie, since 2005. The academy replaces a much-criticised jury which was constituted according to the principle of political proportionality, and on which politicians and clergymen also sat. Now the jury consists of the members of the German Film Academy, which makes them a well specialised jury.
The selection process has three main steps:
* Registration and pre-selection
* Nomination
* Election of the award winners
Nominations are decided by a pre-determined jury from each branch. Except for the film categories, usually three nominees are announced. More nominees are allowed in case of a tie. The nominations for the film categories are endowed with 100.000 Euro (Documentary), 125.000 Euro (Best Children's Film) and 250.000 Euro (Feature Film). Winners in each individual categories get 10.000 Euro, whereas the main winner in the Film category gets 500.000 Euro (including the nomination reward). The Best Film category features six nominees with the three most voted winning a bronze, silver and gold award respectively.

## Categories
### Merit awards

* Best Fiction Film
* Best Documentary Film
* Best Children's Film
* Best Director
* Best Screenplay
* Best Actress
* Best Actor
* Best Supporting Actress
* Best Supporting Actor
* Best Cinematography
* Best Editing
* Best Costume Design
* Best Production Design
* Best Sound Editing
* Best Score
* Best Make-Up
* Best Visual Effects and Animation

### Special awards

* Honorary Award for Outstanding Contributions to German Cinema
* Bernd Eichinger Memorial Award
* Audience Award for the highest grossing Film of the Year

### Retired awards

* Best Foreign Film
* Audience Award for Best Picture and Actor/Actress

## Ceremonies

| Edition | Date | Host(s) | Venue | Best Film |
| 1st | 6 June 1951 | Alfred Bauer | Titania Palast | Two Times Lotte |
| 2nd | 23 April 1952 | | unknown | The Guilt of Doctor Homma |
| 3rd | 1953 | | Ufa Palast | Nights on the Road |
| 4th | 17 June 1954 | | Ufa Palast | No Way Back |
| 5th | 24 June 1955 | | Ufa Palast | Canaris: Master Spy |
| 6th | 22 June 1956 | | Ufa Palast | — |
| 7th | 23 June 1957 | | Ufa Palast | The Captain from Köpenick |
| 8th | 29 June 1958 | | Ufa Palast | The Devil Strikes at Night |
| 9th | 28 June 1959 | | Ufa Palast | Arms and the Man |
| 10th | 22 June 1960 | | Ufa Palast | The Bridge |
| 11th | 25 June 1961 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | — |
| 12th | 24 June 1962 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | The Bread of Those Early Years |
| 13th | 23 June 1963 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | The Endless Night [de] and The Lightship |
| 14th | 28 June 1964 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | The River Line |
| 15th | 27 June 1965 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | The House in Karp Lane |
| 16th | 26 June 1966 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | Young Törless |
| 17th | 25 June 1967 | Walther Schmieding | Kongresshalle Berlin | Yesterday Girl |
| 18th | 23 June 1968 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | Tattoo |
| 19th | 29 June 1969 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | Artists Under the Big Top: Perplexed |
| 20th | 28 June 1970 | Hans Christoph Knebusch and Walther Schmieding | Kongresshalle Berlin | Katzelmacher and Malatesta |
| 21st | 27 June 1971 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | First Love and Lenz [de] |
| 22nd | 24 June 1972 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | Trotta and Ludwig: Requiem for a Virgin King |
| 23rd | 24 June 1973 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | The Experts |
| 24th | 22 June 1974 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | The Pedestrian |
| 25th | 27 June 1975 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | Lina Braake |
| 26th | 25 June 1976 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | Calm Prevails Over the Country [de] |
| 27th | 24 June 1977 | | Kongresshalle Berlin | Heinrich [de] |
| 28th | 30 June 1978 | | unknown | The Glass Cell |
| 29th | 8 June 1979 | | unknown | The Tin Drum |
| 30th | 13 June 1980 | | unknown | The Last Years of Childhood [de] |
| 31st | 26 June 1981 | | unknown | A Lot of Bills to Pay [de] |
| 32nd | 26 June 1982 | | unknown | Marianne and Juliane |
| 33rd | 25 June 1983 | | unknown | The State of Things |
| 34th | 23 June 1984 | | unknown | Where the Green Ants Dream |
| 35th | 15 June 1985 | | unknown | Colonel Redl |
| 36th | 7 June 1986 | | Theater des Westens | Rosa Luxemburg |
| 37th | 13 June 1987 | | Theater des Westens | — |
| 38th | 10 June 1988 | | Theater des Westens | Wings of Desire |
| 39th | 2 June 1989 | | Theater des Westens | Yasemin |
| 40th | 7 June 1990 | | Theater des Westens | Last Exit to Brooklyn |
| 41st | 6 June 1991 | Leo Koschnik | Theater des Westens | Malina |
| 42nd | 4 June 1992 | | Theater des Westens | Schtonk! |
| 43rd | 3 June 1993 | Ilja Richter | Theater des Westens | — |
| 44th | 9 June 1994 | Ilja Richter | Theater des Westens | Kaspar Hauser [de] |
| 45th | 9 June 1995 | Iris Berben | Friedrichstadt-Palast | Maybe... Maybe Not |
| 46th | 31 May 1996 | Joachim Król and Veronica Ferres | Deutsche Oper Berlin | Deathmaker |
| 47th | 6 June 1997 | Sabine Christiansen | Berlin Tempelhof Airport | Rossini [de] |
| 48th | 6 June 1998 | Joachim Fuchsberger | Brandenburg Gate | The Harmonists |
| 49th | 17 June 1999 | Piet Klocke and Katarina Witt | Deutsche Oper Berlin | Run Lola Run |
| 50th | 16 June 2000 | Götz Alsmann and Susann Atwell | Deutsche Oper Berlin | No Place to Go |
| 51st | 22 June 2001 | Götz Alsmann and Susann Atwell | Deutsche Oper Berlin | The State I Am In |
| 52nd | 14 June 2002 | Caroline Beil and Dirk Bach | Tempodrom | Nowhere in Africa |
| 53rd | 6 June 2003 | Jörg Pilawa | Tempodrom | Good Bye, Lenin! |
| 54th | 18 June 2004 | Jessica Schwarz and Ulrich Wickert | Tempodrom | Head-On |
| 55th | 5 June 2005 | Michael "Bully" Herbig | Berliner Philharmonie | Go for Zucker! |
| 56th | 12 May 2006 | Michael "Bully" Herbig | Palais am Funkturm | The Lives of Others |
| 57th | 4 May 2007 | Michael "Bully" Herbig | Palais am Funkturm | Four Minutes |
| 58th | 25 April 2008 | Barbara Schöneberger | Palais am Funkturm | The Edge of Heaven |
| 59th | 24 April 2009 | Barbara Schöneberger | Palais am Funkturm | John Rabe |
| 60th | 23 April 2010 | Barbara Schöneberger | Friedrichstadt-Palast | The White Ribbon |
| 61st | 8 April 2011 | Barbara Schöneberger | Friedrichstadt-Palast | Vincent Wants to Sea |
| 62nd | 27 April 2012 | Elyas M'Barek and Jessica Schwarz | Friedrichstadt-Palast | Stopped on Track |
| 63rd | 26 April 2013 | Mirjam Weichselbraun | Tempodrom | A Coffee in Berlin |
| 64th [de] | 9 May 2014 | Jan Josef Liefers | Palais am Funkturm | Home from Home |
| 65th | 19 June 2015 | Jan Josef Liefers | Palais am Funkturm | Victoria |
| 66th [de] | 27 May 2016 | Jan Josef Liefers | Palais am Funkturm | The People vs. Fritz Bauer |
| 67th [de] | 28 April 2017 | Jasmin Tabatabai | Palais am Funkturm | Toni Erdmann |
| 68th [de] | 27 April 2018 | Edin Hasanović [de] and Iris Berben | Palais am Funkturm | 3 Days in Quiberon |
| 69th [de] | 3 May 2019 | Désirée Nosbusch and Teddy Teclebrhan | Palais am Funkturm | Gundermann |
| 70th [de] | 24 April 2020 | Edin Hasanović | Palais am Funkturm | System Crasher |
| 71th [de] | 1 October 2021 | Daniel Donskoy | Palais am Funkturm | I'm Your Man |
| 72nd [de] | 24 June 2022 | Katrin Bauerfeind | Palais am Funkturm | Dear Thomas |
| 73rd [de] | 12 May 2023 | Jasmin Shakeri | Theater am Potsdamer Platz | The Teachers' Lounge |
| 74th [de] | 3 May 2024 | | Theater am Potsdamer Platz | Dying |

## Trivia
### Films that received six or more German Film Awards

| Film | Year | Noms. | Wins |
| All Quiet on the Western Front | 2023 | 12 | 8 |
| The White Ribbon | 2010 | 13 | 10 |
| The Devil Strikes at Night | 1958 | — | 10 |
| Good Bye Lenin! | 2003 | 10 | 9 |
| System Crasher | 2020 | 10 | 8 |
| The Dark Valley | 2015 | 9 | 8 |
| The Lives of Others | 2006 | 11 | 7 |
| 3 Days in Quiberon | 2018 | 10 | 7 |
| Run Lola Run | 1999 | 6 | 7 |
| Go for Zucker! | 2005 | 10 | 6 |
| Gundermann | 2019 | 10 | 6 |
| The People vs. Fritz Bauer | 2016 | 9 | 6 |
| A Coffee in Berlin | 2013 | 8 | 6 |
| Perfume: The Story of a Murderer | 2007 | 8 | 6 |
| Victoria | 2015 | 7 | 6 |
| Anonymous | 2012 | 7 | 6 |
| Toni Erdmann | 2017 | 6 | 6 |
| The Wrong Move | 1975 | — | 6 |
| The Bread of Those Early Years | 1962 | — | 6 |
| The Captain from Köpenick | 1957 | — | 6 |

### "Big Five" winners and nominees
#### Winners

* Toni Erdmann (2016)
* Best Film: Toni Erdmann
* Best Director: Maren Ade
* Best Actor: Peter Simonischek
* Best Actress: Sandra Hüller
* Best Writing: Maren Ade
* System Crasher (2020)
* Best Film: System Crasher
* Best Director: Nora Fingscheidt
* Best Actor: Albrecht Schuch
* Best Actress: Helena Zengel
* Best Writing: Nora Fingscheidt

#### Nominees

Four awards won
* Good Bye Lenin (2002): Best Actress (Katrin Saß)
* Go for Zucker! (2004): Best Actress (Hannelore Elsner)
* The White Ribbon (2009): Best Actress (Susanne Lothar)
Three awards won
* Stopped on Track (2011): Best Actress (Steffi Kühnert) and Writing (Andreas Dresen and Cooky Ziesche)

### Actors with two or more competitive awards

| Actor | Awards won | Leading | Supporting | Others |
| Götz George | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Albrecht Schuch | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
| Irm Hermann | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sandra Hüller | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Eva Mattes | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Katja Riemann | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Hanna Schygulla | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Barbara Sukowa | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| Mario Adorf | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Moritz Bleibtreu | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Klaus Maria Brandauer | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Daniel Brühl | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Edith Clever | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Justus von Dohnányi | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Hannelore Elsner | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| O.W. Fischer | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Martina Gedeck | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Walter Giller | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Michael Gwisdek | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Fritzi Haberlandt | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Sibel Kekilli | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Peter Kern | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nastassja Kinski | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Burghart Klaußner | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Joachim Król | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Frederick Lau | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Hanns Lothar | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Hannes Messemer | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Uwe Ochsenknecht | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Gerhard Olschewski | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Lena Stolze | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Lilli Palmer | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Sophie Rois | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Heinz Rühmann | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Christine Schorn | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Maria Schrader | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Sigfrit Steiner | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Laura Tonke | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Ulrich Tukur | 2 | 1 | 1 | |