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The Week in Germany: Culture

February 29, 2008

Oscar for Austria's "The Counterfeiters"

This year’s annual Pre-Oscar party at the Villa Aurora honored two German co-productions The Counterfeiters (Die Fälscher) from Austria and Mongol from Kazakhstan. Both films were up for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category, and The Counterfeiters won the coveted prize. This was the first time in many years that a German film was not in the running for the coveted gold statute. Germany’s entry, The Edge of Heaven (Auf der anderen Seite) had not gone on to receive a nomination.

Coming off the triumphant win of last year's foreign-language Oscar for The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) there was reason enough to celebrate this year. Even the rainy weather necessitating the event be held inside rather than in the lovely Villa garden, did not dampen the spirits of the many guests who turned out to celebrate the two German co-produced films and to mingle with members of the German and American film community.

The Austrian film, The Counterfeiters (Die Fälscher), directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, is based on printer Adolf Burger's memoir "The Devil's Workshop - a true account of an episode during World War II. in which Jewish concentration camp prisoners are forced to create counterfeit bills as part of a Hitler regime strategy to destabilize the British economy by flooding the country with forged Bank of England notes. One Communist Party printer refuses to participate, precipitating a crisis.

Kazakhstan’s Mongol recounts the early life of Genghis Khan who was a slave before going on to conquer half the world including Russia in 1206.

The Counterfeiters went on to win the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 80th Academy Awards on Sunday, February 24, 2008.

Links

View Reception Photos

German Films Press Release

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