German “Father Christmas” Named Student Oscar Finalist

Martin Schreier of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg is among the five finalists competing for the 2010 Honorary Foreign Film award in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 37th Annual Student Academy Awards.
“The Night Father Christmas Died” was selected from a record 61 entries from 36 countries. After the fantastical fairy tale “Nimmermeer” in 2007 (written and directed by Toke Constantin Hebbeln), this Weihnachtsmann marks the eighth nomination for the Ludwigsburg, Germany-based film school. According to the tagline, the 38-minute drama is about “The holiest night, the loneliest people. A singer, a killer and Santa Clause. United in their destiny….”

The other finalists are “The Confession” (byTanel Toom National Film and Television School, United Kingdom, “Janna & Liv” (Therese Ahlbeck, Dramatiska Institutet, Sweden), “The Road Home” (Rahul Gandotra, London Film School, United Kingdom) and “Trieste Is Ours” (Ziga Virc, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia). Together with U.S.-based Student Academy Award winners the selected international student filmmaker will be flown to Los Angeles for a week of industry-related activities and social events that will culminate in the awards ceremony on Saturday, June 12, at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Several past German winners in the Honorary Foreign Film competition have gone on to earn further recognition from the Academy. Reto Caffi, a winner in 2008, received a nomination in the Live Action Short Film category for his film “Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” at the 81st Academy Awards. In 2005, at the 78th Academy Awards, student winner Ulrike Grote’s “Ausreisser (The Runaway)” was nominated in the same category. In 2000, Florian Gallenberger won both the Honorary Foreign Film award and the Oscar in the Live Action Short Film category with “Quiero Ser (I want to be…).”

 Click here to read about this in German.

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