Victoria sweeps German Film Awards
Saturday, June 20, 2015 at 11:00PM Sebastian here with a quick update from the German Film Awards (Deutscher Filmpreis).
A still from VICTORIA
Fresh off its Silver Bear win at the Berlinale, Sebastian Schipper's Victoria, a two hour and twenty minute thriller filmed in one continuous shot without editing or camera tricks, dominated Friday night's Filmpreis ceremony, claiming "Lolas" in six categories, including Best Picture, Director, Actress (Laia Costa), and Actor (Frederick Lau).
Other prizes went to dramas Phoenix (Supporting Actress Nina Kunzendorf) and Germany's 2014 Oscar submission Beloved Sisters (Costume Design, Makeup), the thriller Who Am I (Editing, Production Design, Sound), and Citizenfour (Documentary).
I'm a huge fan of Schipper's previous work, especially his debut film Absolute Giganten (1999), so I was rooting for Victoria even without having seen it - in a cruel twist of faith the one movie I was eager to see that I didn't have to worry about being dubbed didn't open in my town at all. Adopt Films has acquired Victoria for distribution in the US and "plans a late summer/early fall 2015 release." Though Victoria beat last year's Oscar submission and two more traditional Oscar submission hopefuls (Labyrinth of Lies and Elser both deal with WW II or its repercussions) for the 2015 Lola, this doesn't necessarily mean it will be Germany's Oscar submission. We'll have to wait and see who takes that honor later in the year.
Reader Comments (5)
http://www.hopesandfears.com/hopes/culture/film/214473-epic-history-movie-trailers-mad-max-independence-day
A must read. History of movie trailers!
I suspected 'Victoria' would triumph since it led the nominations. Sounds like a very interesting film!
Will be interesting to see which film Germany eventually selects, since Labyrinth of Lies and Elser are both being handled by Sony Classics, which is such a powerhouse in the foreign Oscar category.
Being German I have been able to see Victoria already, and I have to say it's an amazing peace of work. It's as crazy, daring, touching as any German movie I've seen. I've always been a fan of Schipper, but this is the one that really got to me. It's sort of a pity that people will get hung up on the "one take" thing (even though I liked t a lot more here than in Birdman), but even without that the story and acting is incredible.
I, too, am a huge fan of Sebastian Schipper's previous work. I didn't care as much about "Mitte Ende August" as I felt I probably should have, but "Absolute Giganten" still is one of my favourite films.
My local cinema hasn't shown "Victoria" yet, but I think there's still hope. If not, I'll just have to get the DVD.
I wasn't aware that "Victoria" is from the same writer/director than "Absoulte Giganten". My interest in the film just increased exponentially.
Also without having seen the film, happy that Frederick Lau was recognized. I think he is a great actor and always makes me very invested in his characters.