PRIZE-WINNERS*
Awarded Programmes 2022
CIVIS – Europe’s Media Prize for Migration, Integration and Cultural Diversity and – linked to this – social cohesion in Europe honours programme achievements in radio, television and the Internet which promote peaceful coexistence in the European immigration society. The CIVIS Cinema Prize as an audience award is added.
TOP AWARD + CIVIS VIDEO AWARD
Black Eagles
Documentary
Amazon Prime Video | BROADVIEW | ZDF
Author | Director: Dr. Torsten Körner
Editing: Gerrit Roth (Amazon Prime Video), Franziska Rempe (BROADVIEW), Peter Wolf (BROADVIEW)
Producer: Leopold Hoesch (BROADVIEW)
Creative Producer: Peter Wolf
Co-production: Thomas Fuhrmann (ZDF)
Erwin Kostedde, Jimmy Hartwig, Gerald Asamoah, Steffi Jones … – they were stars on the pitch, but their skin color made them the target of racist hostility. In the documentary “Black Eagles”, successful PoC players who made it into the German national team speak out about their experience. It was a fight against hidden prejudices and sometimes open hatred. Theirs is the story of a long and difficult process that is far from over: to normalise the coexistence of people of different origins and skin color.
“Football and Racism” – the film follows the history of social prejudices and conflicts that have changed appearance considerably but are far from over. Carefully sourced and with strong interviews, it looks into the careers of German PoC international soccer players, who have had a hard time to assert themselves, not only against rivals on the pitch. A very thoughtful script, outstanding directing and artful camerawork create a viewing experience that is as instructive as it is moving.
CIVIS VIDEO AWARD
The Wannsee Conference
Feature film
ZDF | Constantin Film
Authors: Magnus Vattrodt, Paul Mommertz
Director: Matti Geschonneck
Editing: Stefanie von Heydwolff, Frank Zervos (ZDF)
Producers: Friederich Oetker, Reinhold Elschot
Executive Producer: Oliver Berben (Constantin Film)
On January 20, 1942, 15 senior officials of the SS, the NSDAP and the ministerial bureaucracy convened for a “meeting followed by breakfast” in a villa on the Großer Wannsee in Berlin. In an hour and a half, the bureaucratic procedures of the extermination of the Jews were discussed in detail and agreed upon. The film depicts the monstrous gathering on the basis of the minutes by Adolf Eichmann, one of the participants.
“The film sticks closely to the authentic minutes of a conversation about the organisation of a mass murder. But this is much more than a window into the past. The film, depressingly brought to life by great actors, is a reminder of how far a dehumanized bureaucracy is capable of going. At the same time, it is a warning of evolving inhumanity in some right-wing discourse today.”
YOUNG C. AWARD
LOS CUATRO VIENTOS (THE FOUR WINDS)
Documentary
Giganten Film Produktions GmbH | SWR | Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Author | Director: Anna-Sophia Richard
Editors: Marcus Vetter, Astrid Kuck (SWR)
Producers: Gerrit Klein, Adrian Goiginger (Giganten Film Produktions GmbH)
Co-production: SWR | Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
The film tells the story of six people from Fondo Negro, a village in the southwest of the Dominican Republic. The region is particularly affected by migration. Some residents stay, others leave their birth places, still others leave but come back. All of them are attached to their homes and families; migration shapes the fate of each and every one of them.
“What does it mean when a family is spread over several countries? In haunting images and carefully selected original quotes, the film shows the harrowing paradox of migration: someone leaves the family just to be there for them. The concrete urban landscape of Stuttgart and the colours of the Caribbean world are equally present. The film makes no moral judgements, but renders tangible the conflicting feelings with outstanding directing and camera work.”
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CIVIS VIDEO AWARD
My scar: Martin was a prisoner in a Syrian torture prison
Social-Media-Format
WDR COSMO | bildband Film & Fernsehproduktion
Authors: Fitore Muzaqi, Henrik Schütz, Stefanie Vollmann
Director | Production: Fitore Muzaqi
Illustration: Luisa Bebenroth
Motion Designer: Frederik Vorndran
Editing: Miriam Anna Hochhard, Fitore Muzaqi
Co-production: Jan Hoffmann (bildband Film & Fernsehproduktion KG)
Martin works for an aid organisation in the Middle East. Right at the beginning of a new mission, he and a friend are kidnapped by Syrian security forces and taken to a prison in Damascus. There he experiences torture and rape but is eventually released. He decides to have his face tattoo – displaying an aerial bomb – removed. The scar is to remain, a token of his suffering.
“A credible and authentic rendition of methods to deprive a human being of his dignity. The protagonist, clearly trustful of the author, opens up unreservedly without the necessary journalistic distance suffering. This is captivating and touching while avoiding cheap pathos. Visual design is unobtrusive, allowing the story to take centre stage. “
CIVIS AUDIO AWARD
Information in the morning: Saxony government coalition at loggerheads over deportation of well-integrated Georgian families
Documentary
Deutschlandradio | Deutschlandfunk
Author: Alexander Moritz
Editor: Silvia Engels
The Georgian family Imerlishvilli is perfectly well integrated in Germany, yet in June 2021 they are picked up by police at night and deported to Tbilisi. Friends and neighbours are horrified; in the Saxon state government, the hard line of the Foreigners Office is causing renewed controversy. Alexander Moritz collected voices from the family and friends, from politicians in charge and from refugee initiatives.
“The report examines the problem of deporting long-time residents, drawing on arguments from all sides of the conflict and using gripping quotes for emphasis. It is based on comprehensive research, the results of which are presented in a convincing and comprehensible manner. This is informative and stirring at the same time.”
CIVIS AUDIO AWARD
The last day. The assassination attempt in Hanau
Feature
Deutschlandradio | Deutschlandfunk Kultur | WDR | NDR
Author: Sebastian Friedrich
Director: Hannah Georgi
Editing: Katrin Moll
Co-production: Dlf Kultur | WDR | NDR
In February 2020, a racist assassin in Hanau killed nine people, then his mother and himself. Based on the testimonies of witnesses, relatives and friends, the feature reconstructs the course of the attack and sheds light on the social background of everyday life in the Hanau district of Kesselstadt detecting racism and social conflict, but also feelings of togetherness among the residents of the neighbourhood.
“This is moving and extremely well scripted. The course of events is related in meticulous detail so as to create an almost cinematic liveliness. At the same time, the action – the assassination and its circumstances – is perfectly embedded into its background of racism, class barriers and the victims’ living conditions. The social hotspot Kesselstadt is more than that – it is a home as well; the author treats its inhabitants with respect and empathy.”
CIVIS AUDIO AWARD
Two-Thirds FM – Season 1 Is there friendship in prison? Episode 4.
Podcast
Zweidrittel FM | JSA Berlin
Authors: Fabian Grieger, Jonas Seufert
Editors: Fabian Grieger, Jonas Seufert, Daniel
Production: Boris Hermann, Jörn Hedtke
Co-production: Birgit Lang, Anett Krause, Tobias Schmidt
Zweidrittel FM is produced by a team of prisoners, musicians, journalists and teachers at the Berlin Youth Detention Centre. This episode tells the story of a rare friendship among inmates. The two Iraqis Ali and Ziko met in jail and discovered their problems with the justice system are part of the bigger question: How do you manage to fully arrive and settle in Germany?
“This is a glimpse into a world that most outsiders have no idea about. Just getting the two young prisoners to speak so candidly about themselves is a great achievement. The tone is neither stigmatising nor patronising or lecturing, the protagonists are met at eye level.”
CIVIS CINEMA AWARD
Contra
Spielfilm (Kinostart: 28.10.2021)
Regie: Sönke Wortmann
Drehbuch: Doron Wisotzky
Buchvorlage: “Le Brio“ von Victor Saint Macary, Yaël Langmann, Yvan Attal, Noé Debré
Darsteller:innen: Nilam Farooq, Christoph Maria Herbst, Hassan Akkouch, Ernst Stötzner, Meriam Abbas, Mohamed Issa, Stefan Gorski, Lieke Hoppe, Fatima Naji, Nassiem X. Al-Sheikh Mustafa, Cristiano Papasimos, Akim Schödel, Selin Dörtkades u.a.
Produktion: Constantin Film Produktion
Produzenten: Christoph Müller, Tom Spieß
Creative Producer: Martin Moszkowicz
Koproduktion: SevenPictures Film
Koproduzent: Dr. Stefan Gärtner
Filmverleih: Constantin Filmverleih
Jura-Professor Richard Pohl beleidigt während einer Vorlesung die junge Studentin Naima Hamid mit einem rassistischen Spruch. Er wird dabei gefilmt, das Video geht viral. Der Druck auf die Universität ist groß, ihm droht die Entlassung. Seine einzige Chance: er soll Naima für einen bundesweiten Debattier-Wettbewerb zwischen den Universitäten vorbereiten. Weder Naima Hamid noch Richard Pohl sind zunächst begeistert.
Header: Caleb Oquendo from pexels