The new Art of Film Award for German films

The capital of quality German film has to be artistically significantto be commercially relevant in the long run. Quality is even the crucial advantage in the marketplace – similar to other products made in Germany. Quality in cinema – this also requires a wide variety of narrative forms that has to be maintained and fostered and that avoids any narrowing down on common mainstream standards. Even if this mainstream looks fresh and funky and films that follow its rules guarantee full cinema halls.

If films only rely on variations of current success formulas the audience’s interest wears off as fast as it was built. It is too late then because alternative narrative styles have not been maintained and are lost.

To promote innovations – distinct from the mainstream – is therefore not against market interests but necessary to ensure new impulses. The most important influences do not emerge from „formula cinema“ but from innovative, wilful directors.

A new Art of Film Award For the love of art of film in German cinemawe endow a new film award in Germany, the „Art of Film Award“, and we establish a „Festival of German Film“. We don’t do this because we think that there should be yet another film festival in Germany that ambitiously fights to get premieres. There is no need for that. We donate a prize in a competition that is open to everybody. The only condition is that the film is not released in German cinemas yet. We honour the risk and the willingness to create art – the director’s as well as the producer’s. The award is endowed with 50.000 Euro – a reward and promotion for future activities.

The new film award and its festival do not insist on newcomers only (unlike the „International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg“). We present and reward German films that are wilful author cinema of the present – no matter if the author is a newcomer or already has a reputation. The „Festival of German Film“ is an initiative of the „International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg“ and is supported by the „Initiative Zukunft Rhein-Neckar-Dreieck“, a merger of representatives from corporations, political, scientific and administrative institutions in the Mannheim-Heidelberg-Ludwigshafen region.

Roundabout 20 new German films are presented at the Festival of German Film. They are consequently chosen for their artistic quality. None of them is released in German cinemas yet. Some selected films compete for the

The award goes ex aequo to the director and to the producer. The sum will also be divided between the director and the producer (main producer) of the film.

An independent Jury donates the Art of Film Award. The Jury is composed of five renowned German film artists (directors, producers, actors, distributors, editors, authors, camera men, musicians etc.).