Focus on Berlinale-Thomas Strittmatter Prize

Baden-Württemberg's State Secretary for Culture Arne Braun and MFG CEO Carl Bergengruen awarded Johannes Naber, member of the German "Bundesverband Regie" with the Thomas Strittmatter Prize 2025 at the festive award ceremony which took place on the 19.02 at the Baden-Württemberg State Representation which is located within a 15 min walking distance from the Berlinale Film Palast. Film director Michael Chauvistré, on the board of "Bundesverband Regie" congratulated Naber after the award ceremony, which was moderated by no other than talented radio host Knut Elstermann. His "Berlinale talks" are unforgettable, he understands how to entertain his audience, and that night was no exception! Chiara Fleischhacker, who won the Thomas Strittmatter Prize in 2022, and most recently, just 3 days before on the 16.02 was awarded by the German Film Critics Association-Verband der deutschen Filmkritik for her debut film "Vena" was greeted by Knut Elstermann, while her producer Svenya Vanhoefer was part of one of the film project presented by Elstermann.
The screenwriter Johannes Naber is the winner of the 2025 Thomas Strittmatter Prize, donated by the MFG Film Fund and endowed with 20,000 euros, for his screenplay to the comedy entitled "Wachen" . The story is about Ferdinand, who is an unsuccesful author who lives from the state welfare. The employment agency is forcing him to start a new job as a night guard. Here he meets Ronny, an ex-soldier with a nationalistic worldview. We can imagine the clashes, one a free spirit and the other just the opposite. The jury praised the mix between tragedy and comedy and was impressed by the intelligent and entertaining dialogues of Naber's screenplay.
Johannes Naber, born in 1971 in Baden-Baden, has written and directed films that have received a great deal of attention and success at the box office. After graduating from the Film Academy Baden-Württemb... Upgrade to Full Access