At the 55th Hof Film Festival, which ended yesterday, “Trümmermädchen – Germany Year Zero” by Oliver Kracht was awarded the Bild-Kunst-Förderpreis for “Best Costume Design“ (Hannah Ebenau and Sabrina Krämer) and “Best Production Design“ (Yvonne Leuze).
Since 2004, the prize has consisted of an award for “Best Costume Design“ and “Best Production Design“, both prizes are endowed with € 2,500.- each. The selection included 15 German feature film productions that celebrated their German premiere at the Hof Film Festival.
Jury statement
“Sabrina Krämer and Hannah Ebenau are awarded for the well researched and well executed costumes of the 1940s: The overall concept of the film allows for detours into other times, which were very sensitively and artfully inserted into the cinematic period without imposing themselves on it. The two costume designers succeeded in creating an artistic arch through colours, cuts and jewellery and in depicting a convincing development of the individual characters with these creative means.
Yvonne Leuze’s strong conception draws the black and white world of a destroyed and misogynous society, which appears fragmentarily in the infinity of an abstract-dark space. Sophisticated building constructions give rise to mountains of rubble and streetscapes that explore the tightrope walk between the real and the scenic reduction. In contrast to this are the elaborate and lovingly decorated sets of the “Proto” theatre: a place of painful confrontation and liberating self-empowerment. From lustful to horrific, the visuality of Trümmermädchen burns itself into the retina.”
More information about the Award: Bild-Kunst-Förderpreis
Synopsis
Germany, 1946. Hunger, rubble, returning soldiers. Charlotte is pregnant, but her beloved returnee wants neither her nor his child. To win him over and escape the threat of disgrace, she enrolls in the “Fräulein Course” of actress Gloria Deven, who was an aspiring movie starlet under fascism and is now banned from working. But Gloria, with her merciless teaching, is not interested in reviving the girls’ coquetry, which had become unnecessary during the war. Instead, she awakens in Lotte a longing for something that has been denied her for too long: Freedom.
“Trümmermädchen – Germany Year Zero” will be released in early 2022 by UCM.ONE on the Artkeim² label.
