July, 2004 - Nr. 7
"Head-On" cleans up at German Film Awards
TWIG - Germany’s cinematic elite were out in full force on Saturday (June 19) at the 54th annual German Film Prize ceremony at the Tempodrom in Berlin. But all eyes were on director Fatih Akin and his recent Berlinale winner "Head-On," which took home prizes in nearly every major category, including best film, director, actor, actress, and cinematography.
"Head-On" confronts the struggles of second generation Turkish immigrants to Germany, young people who have spent all of their lives in a Western nation but whose Muslim upbringing creates a cultural rift between them and the society they live in. But beyond the larger questions that it poses about the lives of the more than 2.5 million people of Turkish descent living in Germany today, it is a love story that depicts two people on the brink of desperation, whose problems stem only in part from their cultural identity.
The couple is portrayed by Sibel Kekilli and Birol Uenel, who both took home the golden statuette, recently redubbed the "Lola." The film’s cameraman Rainer Klausmann accepted the prize for best cinematography.
Soenke Wortmann’s period film "The Legend of Bern," a fictionalized narrative about a young boy framed by the German national soccer team’s victory at the 1954 World Cup, took home the Silver Lola for runner-up as well as the prize for the audience’s "favorite German film of the year." Though disappointed, Wortmann acknowledged that "Head-On" is "a very, very good film - it’s a film you can be proud to lose to."
American screenwriter/director Sofia Coppola’s breakout film
"Lost in Translation" was awarded the prize for best foreign film.
Republished with permission from "The Week in Germany"
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