Mascha Schilinski's "In die Sonne schauen" (The Sound of Falling) triumphed at the 2026 German Film Awards, taking home 10 awards, including the top prize, the Golden Lola for best feature film.
At the ceremony on Friday evening, the German Film Academy also awarded the drama for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress (Lena Urzendowski). The film, which tells the story of several women living on a single farm at different time periods, received the most nominations.
Ilker Çatak's political thriller Yellow Letters (Gelbe Briefe), which tells the story of a pair of artists facing political repression in Turkey, won the Silver Lola.
The Bronze Lola went to Simon Verhoeven's comedy "Oh, That Ineffable Void" (Ach, diese Lücke, diese entsetzliche Lücke), based on the novel of the same name by Joachim Meyerhoff.
Verhoeven's mother, renowned actress Senta Berger, won the award for Best Actress for her role in the film. The 85-year-old actress looked visibly moved as she accepted the award, calling the day "just too hard.".
Her co-star Michael Wittenborn was named Best Supporting Actor, and August Diehl won Best Actor for his role in The Disappearance of Josef Mengele (Das Verschwinden des Josef Mengele).
Film director Wim Wenders has been awarded an honorary award by the German Film Academy for his outstanding services to German cinema.
The 80-year-old director, whose films include "Paris, Texas," "Wings of Desire" and "Perfect Days," used his acceptance speech to call for a broader discussion about how the film industry should handle controversial scenes in older works.
Referring to the recent controversy surrounding the nude scene featuring 13-year-old Nastassja Kinskina in his 1975 film Wrong Move (Falsche Bewegung), Wenders said he wouldn't shoot the scene the same way today. However, he added that he "doesn't know" how to handle films made in a different era, as cutting the scene would set a precedent for all future films.
Kinski recently told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that she had been trying for years to have the scene removed from the film.
The event, which was held at Berlin's Funkturm concert venue and had some 1,900 guests, was briefly interrupted by technical problems.
Director Mascha Schilinski poses on stage after accepting the Best Director award for her film "The Sound of Falling" at the German Film Awards in Berlin. (related: "'The Sound of Falling' triumphs at German Film Awards, taking home 10 prizes") Christoph Söder/dpa Director Wim Wenders and actress Senta Berger pose on stage during the German Film Awards ceremony in Berlin. Wenders received the Honorary German Film Award, and Berger was awarded Best Actress in a Leading Role. (related: "'The Sound of Falling' triumphs at German Film Awards, taking home 10 prizes") Christoph Söder/dpa