Germany: Awarding the Film Prize “CINEMA fairbindet”

Erik Bettermann, Deutsche Welle Director General, Dirk Niebel, Development Minister (back row, from left), Gerda Meuer, DW-AKADEMIE Managing Director (front row, second from left) Mohammad Ali Talebi, film director (front row, third from left)

The Iranian film director Mohammad Ali Talebi received the prize for “Bad o Meh” (“Wind and Fog”) on February 20th in Berlin. In his speech at the Berlin International Film Festival, Development Minister Dirk Niebel praised the film. “This film deserves a large audience,” he said. “Cinema helps us learn about each other and leads to more understanding. This is exactly what we need.” The winning film, he continued, conveys “global topics affecting us all.”

Bad O Meh (Iran 2011)

Through the eyes of a young Iranian boy “Bad o Meh” shows how the Iraq war affects his family and how a traumatized boy finds his way back to reality. As one of the jury members, DW-AKADEMIE Managing Director Gerda Meuer viewed all eight nominated films. “It was not easy for us to decide,” she says. “In the end, ‘Bad o Meh’ won the award because it quietly and poignantly shows how children suffer from war and destruction. And this is as true for Iran as it is for the rest of the world.”

With the development-related film prize “CINEMA fairbindet” (“CINEMA connects”) the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) together with the Berlin International Film Festival distinguishes films which outstandingly contribute to the dialogue on issues such as climate change, migration, the impact of war, human rights violations and environmental damage. In the coming months “Bad o Meh” will be shown in 25 cinemas throughout Germany.