“System Crasher” stole the show at the 2020 German Film Awards. Nora Fingscheidt’s feature debut snagged eight Lolas, including best birector and best feature. This year’s ceremony saw winners “accepting their awards virtually from their homes” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Hollywood Reporter details.
Penned by Fingscheidt, who won a best screenplay Lola for the script, “System Crasher” tells the story of Benni (Helena Zengel), a nine-year-old girl in the child welfare system known as a “system crasher” due to drama with her foster family, group home, and special-needs school. Desperate to return to her mother, Benni struggles with anger and aggression.
“System Crasher” also scored Lolas for best leading actress (Zengel), best leading actor (Albrecht Schuch), best supporting actress (Gabriela Maria Schmeide), best sound design (Corinna Zink, Dominik Leube, Jonathan Schorr, Oscar Stiebitz, and Gregor Bonse), and best editing (Julia Kovalenko and Stephan Bechinger).
Germany chose “System Crasher” as their submission for Best International Feature Film at the 2020 Oscars.
“Lola nominees and winners share some $3.2 million in prize money from Germany’s culture ministry, cash that is earmarked for new productions and, post-crisis, will be sorely needed if the local industry is to bounce back,” THR notes.
Other Lola winners include Caroline Link’s “When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit,” the story of a Jewish family who flee from Nazi Germany, and Maryam Zaree’s “Born in Evin,” a look inside Zaree’s quest to learn more about her birth in political prison. The former was named best children’s film and the latter best documentary.
