The Ukraine war, the revolution in Iran and the debate about social diversity have recently shaped the work of many media professionals. This is also shown by the nominations for the Grimme Prize.
Marl – The war in Ukraine is clearly the focus this time: The renowned Grimme Prize could go to ZDF reporter Katrin Eigendorf (60) for the second time in a row this year. Last year’s award winner is nominated for her war reports from Ukraine in the category “Journalistic Achievement”, as is Golineh Atai for her reports from the Arab world.
This was announced by the Grimme Institute in Marl on Thursday. It shortlisted 69 entries for the Quality Television Awards from more than 780 entries. The winners will be announced on March 21st in Cologne, and the prizes will be awarded on April 21st in Marl.
The moderator duo Joko and Klaas received a “special” nomination for “Joko & Klaas 15 minutes live: attention for #IranRevolution” (ProSieben). The entertainers had given away their Instagram accounts with a total of around two million followers to two Iranian activists – out of solidarity with the revolution. Joko and Claas already received a Grimme Prize in 2022.
Ukraine war in view
Many contributions to the Ukraine war are in view of the jury. For example, a fictional adaptation of the Russian war of aggression in cooperation with Ukrainian filmmakers in the series “Himmel & Erde – Небо та Земля” (ZDF/ZDFneo) was nominated. The article deals with leaving home and dealing with those left behind. The commission also recommended two contributions from the perspective of young people in the category Children & Youth: “Ab 18! Following Valeria” (ZDF/3sat) and “Look into my world: #Ukraine – my country at war” (Radio Bremen/rbb//hr/SWR/MDR/KiKA).
In addition, the mini-series “Mission Kabul-Luftbrücke” (rbb) and the production “STRG_F bei den Taliban: Why do people like them?” (NDR/funk) received nominations. The articles look at the situation in Afghanistan after international troops have withdrawn from the country. According to the institute, it is important that other hotspots continue to receive attention despite the war in Ukraine.
According to the Institute’s observations, the topic of diversity in society has once again proven to be particularly important. According to the Grimme Institute, the programs “ANDAZ – Der diverse Talk” (WDR) and “Queer Eye Germany” (Netflix) focus on respectful interaction between people with different identities.
In the Information and Culture category, the filmmakers in the productions “Genderation” (ZDF/3sat) and “How Gottuns created – Coming Out in the Catholic Church” (rbb/SWR/NDR) address the complex subject. The children’s perspective takes the also nominated “Show with the elephant – Why are there different skin colors?” (WDR/KiKA).
In addition to all serious issues, people longed “for variety, entertainment and distraction from everyday life, given the many crises,” emphasized Grimme director Frauke Gerlach. This was also reflected in the award nominations – for example with a nomination for Jan Böhmermann’s ZDF magazine Royale. dpa
