Bernhard WickiMemorial Fund
DEEN
Cuvilliés-Theater Munich during the award ceremony
Since 2002 · annually in Munich

German Film Award
for Peace– The Bridge

The central project of the Bernhard Wicki Memorial Fund e.V. – an award for filmmakers whose work stands for tolerance, human rights and peace.

About the prize

A bridge between cinema and responsibility.

Detail of the award trophies – wood, hand-crafted

The German Film Award for Peace – The Bridge is awarded each year in the run-up to Filmfest München. Endowed in memory of Bernhard Wicki, the award is programmatically tied to his key work “The Bridge” (1959).

Until 2012, the award was called Bernhard Wicki Film Prize – The Bridge – The German Film Award for Peace. Today the Directing Award (national and international), the Acting Award, the Debut Film Award, the Special Award and the Honorary Award are awarded – all with equal weight for the shared cause.

The award is presented in a festive setting – most recently at the historic Cuvilliés Theatre in the Munich Residenz, one of the most significant Rococo theatres in Europe.

View into the sold-out Cuvilliés-Theater during the German Film Award for Peace ceremony

Broadcast of the 25th Ceremony

An extended compilation of the award ceremony is available in the ARD Mediathek.

To the ARD Mediathek
Categories

Five awards – one cause.

In line with the association’s statutes (version of 1 May 2014), the German Film Award for Peace is awarded in five categories of equal standing.

Category

Directing Award

Endowed with: € 7,500

For a director of an outstanding film of human and political dimension – national and international.

Category

Acting Award

Endowed with: € 5,000

For an outstanding actor and his or her socio-political, humanistic stance.

Category

Debut Film Award

Endowed with: € 5,000

For a director at the start of their career – supporting artistically valuable, socially engaged film work.

Category

Special Award

Endowed with: € 3,000

In special cases, for a film, a personality or an overall project.

Category

Honorary Award

Endowed with: non-monetary

Non-monetary award for an outstanding lifetime achievement in the spirit of peace and international understanding.

Nominations may be made by jury members and the board. The jury is appointed by the chair of the board; its members are independent and bound to confidentiality. Decisions are taken by simple majority; legal recourse against the selection decisions is excluded.

The jury

Current jury members

  • Porträt Carlos Gerstenhauer
    Carlos Gerstenhauer
  • Porträt Gabriele Pfennigsdorf
    Gabriele Pfennigsdorf
  • Porträt Adrian Prechtel
    Adrian Prechtel
  • Porträt Bettina Reitz
    Bettina Reitz
  • Porträt Katrin Strauch
    Katrin Strauch
  • Porträt Elisabeth Wicki-Endriss
    Elisabeth Wicki-Endriss
The award trophies on an antique side table at the Cuvilliés Theatre
The trophy

An endless row of bridge pillars, with the human figure at its centre – a symbol of a bridge that grows further with each laureate, around the world.

Bronze cast with gold-hammered lettering, created by the Bulgarian sculptor Grigor Mitzev. Selected through a competition at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich.

Impressions

2026 Ceremony at the Cuvilliés Theatre

Impressions from the 25th German Film Award for Peace – The Bridge at the Cuvilliés Theatre in Munich.

Photos: Oliver Bodmer

View the full gallery
Media coverage

Press voices on the 2026 ceremony.

Reports, features and interviews from radio, TV and online media on the 25th ceremony.

See all press coverage
Carried by

Organisers & partners.

The German Film Award for Peace is a joint project – carried by an alliance of association, politics and the film industry, made possible through the support of strong patrons.

Organisers
  • Bernhard Wicki Memorial Fund e.V.
  • Bavarian State Government
  • SPIO – Central Organisation of the German Film Industry
Funded by
  • FFF Bayern
  • City of Munich
  • and further partners
Media partner
  • Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR)
  • Important partner and long-standing supporter of the German Film Award for Peace.
Chronicle

Laureates since 2002

All awards have equal standing – listed chronologically by year of presentation.

  1. 2026
    • Directing Award · Int.
      Cherien Dabis – Im Schatten des Orangenbaums
    • Directing Award · Nat.
      Ilker Çatak – Gelbe Briefe
    • Debut Film Award
      Daniela Magnani Hüller – Was an Empfindsamkeit bleibt
    • Honorary Award
      Edgar Reitz
  2. 2025
    • Directing Award · Int.
      Mohammad Rasoulof – Die Saat des heiligen Feigenbaums
    • Directing Award · Nat.
      Tim Fehlbaum – September 5
    • Debut Film Award
      Constanze Klaue – Mit der Faust in die Welt schlagen
    • Special Award
      Nawi: Dear Future Me
  3. 2024
    • Directing Award · Int.
      Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest
    • Directing Award · Nat.
      Julia von Heinz – Treasure – Familie ist ein fremdes Land
    • Acting Award
      Christian Friedel – The Zone of Interest
    • Special Award
      Mstyslav Chernov – 20 Tage in Mariupol
  4. 2023
    • Directing Award · Int.
      Romain Gavras – Athena
    • Directing Award · Nat.
      Kilian Riedhof – Meinen Hass bekommt ihr nicht
    • Special Award
      Steffi Niederzoll – Sieben Winter in Teheran
  5. 2022
    • Directing Award · Int.
      Catherine Corsini – In den besten Händen
    • Directing Award · Nat.
      Andreas Dresen – Rabiye Kurnaz gegen George W. Bush
    • Special Award
      Maryna Er Horbatsch – Klondike
  6. 2021
    • Directing Award · Int.
      Kaouther Ben Hania – Der Mann, der seine Haut verkaufte
    • Directing Award · Nat.
      Philipp Stölzl – Schachnovelle
    • Debut Film Award
      Jan Philipp Weyl – Running Against The Wind
    • Honorary Award
      Senta Berger
  7. 2020
    • Directing Award · Int.
      Ladj Ly – Die Wütenden – Les Misérables
    • Directing Award · Nat.
      Jonathan Jakubowicz – Resistance – Widerstand
  8. 2019
    • Directing Award · Int.
      Nadine Labaki – Capernaum – Stadt der Hoffnung
    • Directing Award · Nat.
      Michael Herbig – Ballon
    • Special Award
      Talal Derki – Of Fathers and Sons – Die Kinder des Kalifats
  9. 2018
    • Directing Award · Int.
      Ziad Doueiri – Der Affront
    • Directing Award · Nat.
      Lars Kraume – Das schweigende Klassenzimmer
    • Debut Film Award
      Katja Benrath – Watu Wote – All of us
    • Special Award
      Feras Fayyad – Die letzten Männer von Aleppo
  10. 2017
    • Directing Award · Int.
      Aki Kaurismäki – Die andere Seite der Hoffnung
    • Directing Award · Nat.
      Simon Verhoeven – Willkommen bei den Hartmanns
    • Acting Award
      Julia Vysotskaya – Paradies
    • Honorary Award
      Andrei Kontschalowski
  11. 2016
    • Directing Award · Int.
      Tobias Lindholm – A War
    • Directing Award · Nat.
      Kai Wessel – Nebel im August
    • Acting Award
      Burghart Klaußner – Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer
    • Debut Film Award
      Deniz Gamze Ergüven – Mustang
    • Special Award
      Gianfranco Rosi – Seefeuer
  12. 2015
    • Directing Award · Int.
      Abderrahmane Sissako – Timbuktu
    • Directing Award · Nat.
      Oliver Hirschbiegel – Elser – Er hätte die Welt verändert
    • Debut Film Award
      Burhan Qurbani – Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark.
    • Special Award
      Klaus Härö – Die Kinder des Fechters
  13. 2014
    • Directing Award
      Justin Chadwick – Mandela – Der lange Weg zur Freiheit
    • Debut Film Award · Nat.
      Rick Ostermann – Wolfskinder
    • Debut Film Award · Int.
      Yann Demange – ’71
    • Honorary Award
      Klaus Maria Brandauer
  14. 2013
    • Directing Award
      Mira Nair – The Reluctant Fundamentalist
    • Acting Award
      Riz Ahmed – The Reluctant Fundamentalist
    • Debut Film Award
      Daniel Harrich – Der blinde Fleck
    • Special Award
      Haifaa Al Mansour – Das Mädchen Wadjda
  15. 2012
    • Directing Award
      Icíar Bollaín – Und dann der Regen (También la lluvia)
    • Acting Award
      Zrinka Cvitešić – My Beautiful Country
    • Debut Film Award
      Michaela Kezele – My Beautiful Country
    • Honorary Award
      Michael Verhoeven
  16. 2011
    • Directing Award
      Susanne Bier – In einer besseren Welt
    • Debut Film Award
      Yasemin Şamdereli – Almanya – Willkommen in Deutschland
    • Debut Film Award
      Maggie Peren – Die Farbe des Ozeans
    • Special Award
      Cinema Jenin(Project)
    • Honorary Award
      Maximilian Schell
  17. 2010
    • Directing Award
      Jasmila Žbanić – Zwischen uns das Paradies (Na Putu)
    • Acting Award
      Sibel Kekilli – Die Fremde
    • Debut Film Award
      Philip Koch – Picco
  18. 2009
    • Directing Award
      Hans-Christian Schmid – Sturm
    • Acting Award
      Ulrich Tukur – John Rabe
  19. 2008
    • Directing Award
      Marie Noëlle & Peter Sehr – Die Frau des Anarchisten
  20. 2007
    • Directing Award
      Marco Kreuzpaintner & Kevin Kline – Trade – Willkommen in Amerika
  21. 2006
    • Directing Award
      Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck & Ulrich Mühe – Das Leben der Anderen
  22. 2005
    • Directing Award
      Marc Rothemund – Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage
  23. 2004
    • Directing Award
      Volker Schlöndorff – Der neunte Tag
  24. 2003
    • Directing Award
      Marceline Loridan-Ivens – Birkenau und Rosenfeld
    • Honorary Award
      Anouk Aimée
  25. 2002
    • Directing Award
      Goran Paskaljević – How Harry became a Tree

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