Oscar Nominations for “The White Ribbon” and Additional German Co-Productions
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon, Germany’s nomination for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, is a contender for the foreign-language film Oscar. Four additional German co-productions have also received nominations.
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- Burghart Klaussner, left, plays the town's strict pastor in the award-winning film "The White Ribbon."
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The White Ribbon is a dark drama set in a northern German protestant town on the eve of World War I, when a series of strange accidents begin to increasingly take on the appearance of ritual punishments. Like Austrian director Michael Haneke's other films, including Funny Games (1997), The Piano Teacher (2001), and Cache (2005), The White Ribbon is a disturbing exploration of human cruelty.
In addition to its nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Academy Awards, the film’s director of photography, Christian Berger, has also received a nomination in the category of Best Cinematography.
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- A scene from the film "The White Ribbon"
- (© picture-alliance/ dpa )
The film, which is a co-production between Germany, Austria, France and Italy, has already picked up a number of prestigious awards, including the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and the awards for best film, best director and best screenwriter at the European Film Awards.
It will be competing for Germany against Israel with the Israeli-German co-production Ajami, by Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani; France with A Prophet, by Jacques Audiard; Peru with The Milk of Sorrow, by Claudia Llosa; and Argentina with The Secret of Their Eyes, by Juan José Campanella.
Additional German co-productions received Oscar nods
The US-German co-production Inglourious Basterds, by director Quentin Tarantino, received a total of eight nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Cinematography, Best Writing (Original Screenplay), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for the performance by actor Christoph Waltz.
Actress Helen Mirren and actor Christopher Plummer also received nominations for their portrayals of Sofya and Leo Tolstoy in the German-Russian-UK co-production The Last Station, by director Michael Hoffmann.
In the category for best documentary short, a Polish-German co-production titled Rabbit à la Berlin, by Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra, received a nomination. The film tells the story of a population of protected rabbits that lived in the “Death Zone” between the two sides of the Berlin Wall, until that fateful day on November 9, 1989, when the Wall fell and they were suddenly free.
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony will be broadcast live from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on March 7, 2010.
