The film “Nothing New in the West” by Edward Berger is set to win the Oscar for Germany in 2023. That was decided by a jury on Wednesday in Munich, as announced by German Films, the agency for German film abroad. “Erich Maria Remarque wrote a book almost 100 years ago that is unfortunately more relevant today than we expected,” said director Berger. “It is a great honor for us that we are now going into the race for the Oscars with our film. It’s a long way.”
Berger’s film prevailed against eight other applicants, including “Dear Kurt” by director, producer and actor Til Schweiger. The film adaptation of the bestseller “Kurt” by Sarah Kuttner tells the story of the fate of a young blended family, with Schweiger playing one of the main roles.
The other candidates were the film “Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush” by Andreas Dresen, “Everybody is talking about the weather” by Annika Pinske, “Everything in the Best Order” by Natja Brunckhorst, “The Passport Forger” by Maggie Peren, “Nico” by Eline Gehring, “Nobody is with the calves” by Sabrina Sarabi and “We might as well be dead” by Natalia Sinelnikova.
The choice of the German contribution is only a preliminary stage in the race for the foreign Oscar. The shortlist of 15 titles from the international applicants will be announced in December. The five nominated films are then selected from this shortlist. The Oscars will then be awarded on March 12, 2023.
Last year, Maria Schrader’s futuristic tragic comedy Ich bin dein Mensch was shortlisted but didn’t make it into the finals. Germany’s last success in the Oscar category for best non-English language film was 15 years ago. At that time, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Stasi drama “The Lives of Others” won.
