Director Hannes Hirsch wins one of the most important young talent awards in the German industry for the queer film “Drifter”. The production will be honored with the First Steps Award in the “Evening-Length Feature Film” category, as the organizers announced on Sunday evening in Berlin.
“This film is an exciting journey, an odyssey, at the end of which there may be something like the knowledge of the self,” was the reasoning behind it. “In a very casual and unpretentious manner, Hannes Hirsch’s Drifter presents us with the hero’s journey of an anti-hero in naturalistic images and with an outstandingly transparent protagonist.”
“Drifter” is about a young man (played by Lorenz Hochhuth) who has just been abandoned by his boyfriend. He immerses himself in the Berlin party scene and lives out his suppressed longings, but increasingly loses himself in drug excesses and emotional alienation. The film opens in cinemas on November 2nd.
The award honors graduating films from film schools in German-speaking countries. It is awarded annually in ten prize categories and is endowed with a total of 131,000 euros. The organizers include the German Film Academy, ARD, Netflix and other companies.
In addition, the documentary “Hao Are You” by Dieu Hao Do and the screenplay of “The Battles of Madame Kaulla” by Mathis van den Berg also received awards. The Götz George Young Talent Award goes to actress Bayan Layla for her portrayal of Elaha in the film of the same name.
