• Dennis Todorovic, Christoph Mathieu („Die Laika Kapsel“), Stephan Bergmann („I love Cyborgs“), Valentin Riedl („Lost in Face“), Andreas Kannengießer, Kathrin Schrocke (Buchautorin), Andreas Doeltgen, Birgit Stauber („Freak City“), Mirko Derpmann, Wim Wenders, Petra Müller mit NRW-Medienministerin Angelica Schwall-Düren © Heike Herbertz / Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
  • The Jury: Mirko Derpmann, Wim Wenders and Petra Müller © Heike Herbertz / Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
  • Wim Wenders with Angelica Schwall- Düren, Minister of Media in Northrhine-Westfalia © Heike Herbertz / Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
  • Bernd Eichhorn (Wim Wenders Foundation) with the scholars Dennis Todorovic and Christoph Mathieu („Die Laika Kapsel“) © Heike Herbertz / Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
  • The Lord Mayor of the city of Düsseldorf Thomas Geisel with Wim and Donata Wenders © Heike Herbertz / Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
  • The scholars Dennis Todorovic and Christoph Mathieu („Die Laika Kapsel“) with Wim Wenders © Heike Herbertz / Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
  • Scholar Stephan Bergmann („I love Cyborgs“) and Wim Wenders © Heike Herbertz / Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
  • Scholar Valentin Riedl („Lost in Face“) with Wim Wenders © Heike Herbertz / Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
  • Scholars Birgit Stauber and Andreas Kannengießer(„Freak City“) with Wim Wenders © Heike Herbertz / Film- und Medienstiftung NRW

On 2 June 2015 four projects have been awarded The Wim Wenders scholarship worth a total sum of 100,000€ at the Filmwerkstatt in Düsseldorf. The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW in collaboration with the Wim Wenders Foundation awarded the scholarship for the development of innovative filmic concepts for the second time. It is aimed at young filmmakers who have a vision of new ways of visual storytelling.

„The Wim Wenders grant has been very well received. Applications came from the whole country and displayed a wide range of genres, with a light preference for science fiction and futuristic stories“ declared Petra Müller, head of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW. „We thank all applicants for their convincing projects and congratulate the recipients who and implement their ideas after the pitching of today. And before all, I thank Wim Wenders, Mirko Derpmann, and the team of he Düsselodorf based Wim Wenders Stiftung.“

The jury chaired by Wim Wenders chose the winners from the applications. The other members of the jury were Petra Müller, chairwoman of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW as well as Mirko Derpmann, creative director and member of the management at Scholz & Friends.

“The principal idea behind the grant of the Wim Wenders Foundation is to foster and encourage young filmmakers to approach well-known forms and genres in innovative ways, whether fictional or documentary. This year, too, the jury has chosen those applicants who have both convinced us with an extraordinary subject as well as given us hope that they’ll examine their visual means in creative ways”, says Wim Wenders.

For more information please visit filmstiftung.de

RECIPIENTS

FREAK CITY
Andreas Kannengießer and Birgit Stauber, Berlin
Coming-of-age Drama, 25,000 euros

Lea is pretty, temperamental – and has been deaf since birth. When Mika sets eyes on her for the first time, he’s instantly charmed by the feisty girl, so much so that he resolves to sign up for a sign language course. His family and friends are skeptical and soon he too begins to have his own doubts. And then all of a sudden Sandra, an ex-girlfriend Mika never really got over, is back in the mix again. But Lea has quietly gotten a hold on his heart…

DIE LAIKA-KAPSEL
Dennis Todorovic and Christoph Mathieu, Cologne
Science Fiction, 40,000 euros

A philosophical chamber drama in 3D, a science fiction parable in which the desires we project on to the vastness of the cosmos are contrasted with the three-dimensional claustrophobia of life in a space capsule. An astronaut dissolves into a cloud of molecules as his colleagues look on helplessly. The crew can agree on one thing: Timokow wasn’t a human – instead he must have been a humanoid created through the magic of nanotechnology. A creeping suspicion begins to throw the peaceful crew off balance.

I LOVE CYBORGS
Stephan Bergmann, Aachen
Documentary Essay Film, 25,000 Euro

I LOVE CYBORGS tells the story of a small network of people that already live as cyborgs. They build and program their own cybernetic extensions and defend their ideas against large corporations. Together with Neil Harbisson, the first individual to be recognized as a cyborg by a government, we embark on a journey into the technological future of the human body.

LOST IN FACE
Valentin Riedl, Munich
Portrait, 10,000 euros

When she was young, Carlotta admired her mother, who always immediately greeted every one of her friends and neighbors on the street. Not until years later did she realize that she herself was simply unable to recognize people’s faces, whether her own or those of others. Since then she has explored the terrain of her face by touch in the process of making thousands of self-portraits, in order to finally learn to recognize herself.