Awards, Films, News, Women Directors, Women Writers

“Toni Erdmann” Wins Big at German Film Awards

“Toni Erdmann”

Nearly a year after its world premiere at Cannes, “Toni Erdmann” continues to make its mark around the globe. The Hollywood Reporter writes that Maren Ade’s dark comedy dominated the German Film Awards, or Lolas, held Friday in Berlin. The pic snagged six awards, including best film, director, screenwriter, and editing.

Written and directed by Ade, “Toni Erdmann” follows Ines (Sandra Hüller) and Winifried (Peter Simonichek), a daughter and father whose personalities are radically different from one another. Ines is an overworked, polished management consultant who is deeply invested in other people’s opinions of her. Her meticulously managed life is turned upside down when Winifried, a practical joke-loving music teacher, shows up from out of town at her work for an unexpected visit. Both Hüller and Simonichek won German Film Awards for their acting in the film.

Considered a favorite by many at Cannes, “Toni Erdmann” didn’t end up taking home any awards from the fest. It did, however, win the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Grand Prix for best film of the year, an honor Ade accepted at the San Sebastian Film Festival’s opening night gala ceremony.

“Toni Erdmann” has since been nominated for and received many awards. The film swept the the main categories of the 2016 European Film Awards, taking home Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and acting honors for stars Hüller and Simonichek. Ade is the first woman to win Best Film at the awards in their entire 29-year history. “Toni Erdmann” came in at number one on Sight & Sound’s prestigious annual critics’ poll. The UK Magazine asked 163 critics and curators to name their five best films of the year, and Ade’s third feature came out victorious and made history: This year’s list marks the first time that a woman-directed film has taken the top spot. More recently, “Toni Erdmann” received Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for best foreign-language film.

Ade told us that she wanted to use the film “to tell something about family — about the assigned roles everybody plays in families, and about the wish to break out of that and to start from zero.”

Fortunately, “Toni Erdmann” wasn’t the only film directed by a woman to be recognized at the Lolas. The Best Film — Lola in Silver award went to Anne Zohra Berrached’s “24 weeks,” a drama about a woman considering a late-term abortion, and Nicolette Krebitz’s “Wild,” a portrait of a woman who captures a wolf and holds him captive in her high-rise apartment, took home Best Film — Lola in Bronze.

Check out all of the female winners from the German Film Awards below. List adapted from THR.

Best Film
“Toni Erdmann,” director Maren Ade

Best Film — Lola in Silver
“24 Weeks,” director Anne Zohra Berrached

Best Film — Lola in Bronze
“Wild,” director Nicolette Krebitz

Best Documentary
“Cahier africain,” director Heidi Specogna

Best Children’s Film
“Auf Augenhohe,” co-director Evi Goldbrunner

Best Screenplay
Maren Ade for “Toni Erdmann”

Best Director
Maren Ade for “Toni Erdmann”

Best Actress
Sandra Hüller for “Toni Erdmann”

Best Supporting Actress
Fritzi Haberlandt for “Fog in August”

Best Editing
Heike Parplies for “Toni Erdmann”

Best Costume Design
Frauke Firl for “Paula”

Best Make Up
Kathi Kullack for “Das kalte Herz”

Lifetime Achievement Award
Film editor Monika Schindler

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