The actress Sandra Hülser (45) received the Douglas Sirk Prize at the Hamburg Film Festival. The best award ceremonies are those where you don’t have to explain why the person is getting the prize, said festival director Albert Wiederspiel on Saturday evening in Hamburg. “The award for Sandra Hülser was long overdue, actually we were just waiting for an opportunity.” The award should also recognize their increasingly important contribution to European film culture.
Her fellow actor Jens Harzer (51) also found warm words for the Thuringian native in his eulogy. She always created a special kind of lostness for her roles, but at the same time she also gave the women a certain independence and strength. Hülser has an absolutely “singular position in film and theater”. Her current film “Anatomy of a Case” is a testament to her “fundamentally impressive acting.”
On Saturday evening, Sandra Hülser was thrilled and touched by the words about her and the songs for her. “This is a really incredibly beautiful moment in my life. It doesn’t happen that often that someone who knows you well talks about you or sings to you,” said the 45-year-old after the award ceremony.
Hülser is considered an exceptional talent. At first she mainly played theater, but she became better known for her role in the film “Requiem”, for which she also received several film awards. Her role in the tragicomedy “Toni Erdmann” also brought her to the attention of European filmmakers and critics. Now she played the leading role in the winning film at Cannes. The crime drama “Anatomy of a Case” was also shown as a German premiere in Hamburg following the awards ceremony. Hülser is only the second German actress after Nina Hoss to be honored with the Douglas Sirk Prize.
The prize has been awarded since 1995. Previous winners include Wim Wenders, Catherine Deneuve, Tilda Swinton and Jodie Foster. The Hamburg Film Festival runs until October 7th. More than 130 films will be shown, including 25 cinema and television films as world premieres.
