Dr No
[Moderator Omega - Wristscan]
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Glashütte Original at the Berlinale Film Festival . . .
. . . with text and photos courtesy of Our Man in Glashütte.
"ISTIYAD ASHBAH" (Ghost Hunting) wins first-ever Glashütte Original Documentary Award
Glashütte Original looks back on Iconic Moments at the 67th Berlinale
For Glashütte Original the 67th Berlin International Film Festival wrapped up on Sunday with a very special highlight: the inaugural presentation of the Glashütte Original Documentary Award, founded and funded by the German watchmaker. The 50,000 Euro Award was presented with pride to "Istiyad Ashbah (Ghost Hunting)", which screened in the Panorama section of the Berlinale. The ceremony was the festive conclusion to ten eventful Festival days: host of the Golden Bear Lounge at the heart of the Berlinale, the noted German manufactory dedicated its presence this year to the new Sixties Iconic Square Collection.
"Istiyad Ashbah (Ghost Hunting)", a co-production from France, Palestine, Switzerland and Qatar, is the first-ever winner of the Glashütte Original Documentary Award. Director Raed Antoni and Producer Palmyre Badinier accepted the 50,000 Euro prize during the official Awards Ceremony at the Berlinale Palast Saturday evening. The Documentary Award trophy, designed and built by hand at the watchmaker's manufactory in Glashütte, was presented to the winners by the three jurors Laura Poitras, Daniela Michel and Samir. They honored the winning film, chosen from 16 nominees, in their laudation: "Documentaries build bridges between different cultures. And the Award winning filmmakers show us in a brave, original and innovative way, how humans can defy suppression with dignity." Speaking on behalf of the entire film team, Director Raed Antoni expressed his delight with the verdict: "I work with people living at the darkest places of the world, and tonight I received this award under all these lights. And of course it's not just about the prize money. The prize is a kind of appreciation and motivation."
[Raed Antoni with Thomas Meier, CEO Glashütte Original]
[Raed Antoni with his filmcrew and jury for the Documentary Award]
For Glashütte Original this truly iconic moment was a perfect way to wrap up the 67th Berlinale. For the first time the Saxon watch manufactory had supported the Festival as Principal Partner; inspired by the festive ambiance and events, Glashütte Original took the occasion to present a colorful Special Collection: the five four-cornered Sixties Iconic Square Chronographs took center stage at numerous presentations and events in the Golden Bear Lounge.
Every day Glashütte Original welcomed prominent guests from the film- and watchmaking worlds to a stylish ambiance directly opposite the Red Carpet. CEO Thomas Meier, on hand to welcome many of the guests personally, was very pleased with the way it all played out: "We are pleased to have enriched the Berlinale with our Lounge and our ideas, and to have created opportunities for engaging encounters between the art of making films and that of making watches. In our first year as Principal Partner we can look back not only on numerous iconic moments but on a very positive experience overall."
[City Lights Glashütte Original and Berlinale]
[Berlinale Red Carpet]
Glashütte Original also established, for the first time, an exclusive watch loan service. In a suite in the Festival hotel the German watchmaker's team offered interested guests a hands-on introduction to its current collection; as a consequence there were always a good number of its elegant timepieces to be spotted on the Red Carpet and in movie theaters around town. In the Golden Bear Lounge the Festival began with a brilliant opening evening, in which key players in the German film industry joined Glashütte Original for a warm-up in anticipation of the days to come. Additional high points on the impressive Lounge calendar were the get-together for the international documentary film industry; numerous warm-ups for premieres on the program, including several entries in the Competition section; a reception for the "City of Gold", Pforzheim; and lively evenings with customers and dealers such as WEMPE and Bucherer Berlin. Among the guest stars who visited the Golden Bear Lounge on numerous occasions were Festival Director Dieter Kosslick, the International Jury led by Paul Verhoeven, costume designer Milena Canonero, who has an honorable Golden Bear and four Oscars to her name already, along with notable actors and filmmakers including Sandra Hüller, Oliver Hirschbiegel, Iris Berben, Tom Tykwer, Tom Schilling, Volker Schlöndorff, Juliane Köhler, and many others.
[Berlinale Best Actor Georg Friedrich]
[Georg Friedrich with GO watchmaker]
[Festival Director Dieter Kosslick]
[Sixties Square Iconic collection]