31.03.2026 | German Film Award 2026
The films "Amrum" and "Yellow Letters" are among the favourites in this year's nominations for the German Film Awards: İlker Çatak is nominated nine times with his Golden Bear-winning film "Yellow Letters" - Fatih Akin's "Amrum" has six nominations. Both films are in the running for the LOLA for best feature film.
Helge Albers, CEO MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein: "Filmnorden is on course for LOLA! With 'Yellow Letters' by İlker Çatak and 'Amrum' by Fatih Akin, two of the outstanding productions of the past twelve months have been nominated for the German Film Award. Two thoroughly North German works. MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein has a long association with both filmmakers - and both films were shot in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. We are keeping our fingers crossed for the Distribution in May."
Best Feature Film (Ingo Fliess)
Best Director (İlker Çatak)
Best Script (İlker Çatak, Ayda Meryem Çatak, Enis Köstepen)
Best Female Lead (Özgü Namal)
Best Male Lead (Tansu Biçer)
Best Cinematography / Visual Design (Judith Kaufmann)
Best Editing (Gesa Jäger)
Best Production Design (Zazie Knepper)
Best Film Music (Marvin Miller)
Best Feature Film (Fatih Akin, Herman Weigel)
Best Cinematography / Visual Design (Karl Walter Lindenlaub)
Best Costume Design (Birgit Missal)
Best Hair & Make Up (Maike Heinlein)
Best Film Music (Stefan Götsch aka Hainbach)
Best Sound Design (Joern Martens, Tobias Fleig, Corinna Fleig, Richard Borowski)
With "Yellow Letters" (if... Productions Film, Munich), Oscar-nominated Director İlker Çatak tells a drama from Turkey that was realised in Germany and has already won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale 2026. The film was shot over three weeks in Hamburg. The film tells the story of artist couple Derya and Aziz from Ankara, who are targeted by the state overnight and lose their job and home. Together with their daughter, they move to Istanbul, where they have to decide between their values and their future together as a family. The film received 450,000 euros in production support from the MOIN Film Fund.
"Amrum" (bombero int, Hamburg) tells the story of 12-year-old Nanning, who tries to feed his family after the end of the war in 1945. The plot is based on the childhood memories of Hamburg filmmaker Hark Bohm, who died last year and also developed the script together with Fatih Akin. The MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein supported the film, which was shot over around 25 days in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, with 800,000 euros. In addition to lead actor Jasper Belling, the cast also includes Laura Tonke, Lisa Hagmeister, Detlev Buck, Matthias Schweighöfer, Lars Jessen and Diane Kruger. "Amrum" was the highest-grossing arthouse film in Germany in 2025 with more than 800,000 admissions.
The German Film Awards will be presented in Berlin on 29 May.
