Max Ophüls Prize honors director Christian Petzold
Published: Wednesday, Dec 11th 2024, 13:40
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Director and screenwriter Christian Petzold (64) will be honored with this year's tribute at the 46th Max Ophüls Prize (MOP) film festival.
"It is with great pleasure that we honor Christian Petzold this year, one of the most important and successful German film directors, who celebrated the beginning of his film career here in Saarbrücken," says Svenja Böttger, Artistic Director of the MOP. "We admire his incomparable storytelling skills as well as his commitment to the next generation of filmmakers, to whom he passed on his love of cinema with passion and dedication."
The Max Ophüls Prize is considered the most important festival for German-language film and stands for the discovery of talent from Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The films in the four competitions will be announced on December 17. Prizes totaling around 120,000 euros will once again be awarded at the next edition.
Long association with MOP in Saarbrücken
According to the organizers, Christian Petzold has a long history with the festival: His graduation film from the German Film and Television Academy Berlin, "Pilotinnen", premiered in Saarbrücken in 1995. His subsequent works "Cuba Libre" and "Die Beischlafdiebin" were also presented and awarded in the Saarland state capital for the first time: "Cuba Libre" received the jury prize in 1996, "Die Beischlafdiebin" the producer prize in 1998.
During the festival week from January 20 to 26, 2025, the film festival will present three of Petzold's films followed by audience discussions. He will also hold a master class for the talented directors in attendance. A public tribute talk will take place on the Wednesday of the festival, which is open to all interested parties. This was announced by the organizers. Previous tribute guests have included actors Mario Adorf, Heike Makatsch and Sandra Hüller and, most recently, director and Grimme Award winner Christian Schwochow.
More than 20 films and many awards
With over 20 cinema and television films and countless awards - most recently the Silver Bear for "Red Sky" at the 2023 Berlinale - Christian Petzold has left a lasting mark on the German film landscape. In his works, he deals with the major themes of love, death and capitalism. He knows how to "translate complex social and emotional circumstances into clear stories and images with his unmistakably objective style".
Petzold's breakthrough came with "Inner Security" (2000), which won the German Film Award in 2001. This was followed by films such as "Wolfsburg" (2003) and "Jerichow" (2008). With "Barbara" (2012, Silver Bear) and "Phoenix" (2014), Petzold turned to historical material for the first time: for example, the GDR escape and the search for identity of a concentration camp survivor.
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