MANFRED STELZER AWARD: DER KÖNIG VON KÖLN

IN COOPERATION WITH NETWORK MOVIE

A comedy that the late writer and director Manfred Stelzer would have surely loved, based on just thinly veiled true evens. There are neither shining heroes nor diabolical villains in Richard Huber's made for TV movie about the infamous local political corruption in Cologne, just more or less flawed characters all looking to get an advantage – some small, some rather large. One hand washes the other – and upstart Joseph "Jupp" Asch has the most hands of them all, commissioned to build the new city council and trying to pocket a couple of millions for himself in the process. Of course he's chummy with the housing and construction secretary Stüssgen, but when he falls to a heart attack, his deputy Di Carlo has to decide how much coterie he should allow.   

In May 2020 German writer-director Manfred Stelzer passed away. In his films he combined subversive humour and everyday poetry in a unique way. His protagonists are gamblers, con artists and fare dodgers, all being driven by a longing for a better life. Stelzer's subversive and idiosyncratic comedies with their inimitable protagonists are still exemplary today, which is why the Film Festival Cologne has, for the first time and initiated by Network Movie, given out an award in his honour. After the award ceremony, the winning film was screened.  

Nominees MANFRED STELZER AWARD 2020:

SERVUS, SCHWIEGERSOHN Directed by: Mike Marzuk | D 2019 | 88‘ Production: Yalla Productions | Adnan Maral   

LEIF IN CONCERT – VOL. 2 Directed by: Christian Klandt | D 2019 | 114‘ Production: Lischke & Klandt | Martin Lischke   

IRGENDWANN IST AUCH MAL GUT Directed by: Christian Werner | D 2019/20 | 94‘ Production: Venice Pictures | Sebastian Sawetzki   

WERKSTATTHELDEN MIT HERZ Directed by: Lars Montag | D 2019 | 89‘ Production: Film-Line | Arno Ortmair   

ALTE BANDE Directed by: Dirk Kummer, Kaspar Heidelbach | D 2019 | 85‘ Production: Elsani & Neary Media | Anita Elsani   

DER KÖNIG VON KÖLN Directed by: Richard Huber | D 2019 | 87‘ Production: Zeitsprung | Michael Souvignier   

DER SOMMER NACH DEM ABITUR Directed by: Eoin Moore | D 2019 | 89‘ Production: Ziegler Film | Tanja Ziegler   

KRYGER BLEIBT KRÜGER Directed by: Marc-Andreas Bochert | D 2019 | 90‘ Production: PROVOBIS | Jens Christian Susa  

Jury MANFRED STELZER AWARD 2020:

Ziska Riemann, Director Bettina Wente, Producer, Network Movie Klaudia Wick, Journalist Johannes Hensen, Head of Program, Film Festival Cologne Axel Prahl, Actor