Actress Alexandra Maria Lara (43) and director Florian Gallenberger (50) will head the German Film Academy in the future. The two were elected as the new management duo on Sunday, the academy announced in Berlin.
You are replacing the previous President Ulrich Matthes – the actor had not returned to the post after three years.
The film academy has around 2,200 members from various areas of film. Similar to the Oscars in the USA, the members decide who wins the German Film Prize. The Lolas will next be awarded on June 24th.
“It is with deep respect that we are following in the big footsteps that Ulrich Matthes is leaving behind after three years in office,” said Lara and Gallenberger. “But we are happy to accept this challenge.” The terms “appreciation” and “perception” are close to their hearts and should characterize their presidency.
The actress Lara stood in front of the camera for a number of film and television productions, for example for the historical drama “Der Untergang” or most recently the mini-series “8 witnesses”, the children’s film “Alfons Zitterbacke – Das Chaos ist zurück” and the novel adaptation “Der Fall Collini” .
Co-President Gallenberger, who also writes screenplays, directed the comedy “It’s just a phase, hare”, the literary adaptation “The Defector” and the drama “Colonia Dignidad” with Daniel Brühl and Emma Watson. He won an Oscar in 2001 for his short film Quiero Ser.
According to the announcement, the two want to strengthen the community of filmmakers. “We want to continue to grow together, we want to be open to each other and treat the work of our colleagues with respect. The goal we all share is to give German film the visibility it deserves,” both said.
The film academy was previously run by dual leaders, for example after it was founded in 2003 by Senta Berger and Günter Rohrbach. Most recently, actor Matthes held the post. The beginning of the pandemic fell during his tenure – cinemas had had to close for months, filming was also made more difficult. There was also a dispute about the video campaign #allesdichtmachen, in which several filmmakers had tried to satirically comment on the pandemic policy. (dpa)