Sound of Falling cleans up at Germany’s Lola Awards

01/06/2026 – At the 76th edition of the national film prizes, Mascha Schilinski’s Cannes Jury Prize winner continued to pick up awards; other winners included Yellow Letters and Oh, This Unspeakable Void

On Friday night, Berlin once again played host to one of Germany’s grandest nights in film – the 76th edition of the German Film Awards (Deutscher Filmpreis), colloquially known as the Lola Awards, or “Lolas”, after its statuettes. Hosted by Christian Friedel (leading roles in The Zone of Interest and the TV series Babylon Berlin), the event gathered approximately 1,900 guests in the German capital’s Palais am Funkturm.

Mascha Schilinski’s Cannes Jury Prize winner Sound of Falling came out on top, cashing in on a whopping ten out of its 11 nominations, including Best Feature Film (Golden Lola), Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography. Lena Urzendowsky received the Award for Best Supporting Actress, the film’s sole acting prize. The movie also swept nearly all of the remaining below-the-line awards: for editing, sound design, production design, costume design, and hair and make-up.

Simon Verhoeven’s Oh, This Unspeakable Void, a German comedy based on a bestselling semi-autobiographical novel, picked up three awards: the Bronze Lola for Best Feature Film, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor (for storied performer Senta Berger – also the director’s mother – and Michael Wittenborn, respectively). It collected more gongs than the Berlinale Golden Bear winner Yellow Letters, which received the Silver Lola for Best Feature Film and a nod to Marvin Miller for Best Score.

Beyond the prize-giving, the event also fittingly reflected the political atmosphere that has shaped the country’s audiovisual industry, especially as perceived by the international world, over the last few years. Florian Gallenberger and Vicky Krieps, co-presidents of the German Film Academy, delivered comments calling for unity, diversity and respect in the cultural space. Tricia Tuttle, who presented the Best Director Award, was given a standing ovation in support of her work as the head of the Berlinale. Close scrutiny of the festival’s approach to political expression gave way to push-and-pull around her leadership of the festival earlier this year (see the news).

While the Bernd Eichinger Prize for Outstanding Producers went to Thomas Wöbke and Philipp Trauer (of Tides, September 5 and 22 Lengths), Wim Wenders was presented with an Honorary Prize for Lifetime Achievement. The storied director reflected on a directorial choice made in his early filmography, in which he filmed a topless scene with the then-13-year-old Nastassja Kinski in his 1975 film Wrong Move. In his acceptance speech, he stated that he would never film a scene that way again. Wenders openly grappled with cutting the scene, expressing the desire to discuss this further with the German film community in order to make a decision informed by both the preservation of film heritage and the duty to make an overdue correction.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Lola for Best Feature Film

Golden Lola
Sound of Falling – Mascha Schilinski (Germany)

Silver Lola
Yellow Letters – İlker Çatak (France/Germany/Turkey)

Bronze Lola
Oh, This Unspeakable Void – Simon Verhoeven (Germany)

Best Documentary
Siri Hustvedt – Dance Around the Self – Sabine Lidl (Germany/Switzerland)

Best Children’s Film
Circusboy – Julia Lemke, Anna Koch (Germany)

Best Director
Mascha Schilinski – Sound of Falling

Best Screenplay
Mascha Schilinski, Louise Peter – Sound of Falling

Best Actress
Senta Berger – Oh, This Unspeakable Void

Best Actor
August Diehl – The Disappearance of Josef Mengele
(Germany/France/Latvia/Mexico/UK/Uruguay/USA)

Best Supporting Actress
Lena Urzendowsky – Sound of Falling

Best Supporting Actor
Michael Wittenborn – Oh, This Unspeakable Void

Best Cinematography
Fabian Gamper – Sound of Falling

Best Editing
Evelyn Rack – Sound of Falling

Best Sound Design
Claudio Demel, Billie Mind, Kai Tebbel, Sebastian Heyser, Jürgen Schulz – Sound of Falling

Best Score
Marvin Miller – Yellow Letters

Best Production Design
Cosima Vellenzer (set design), Maike Kiefer (set decoration) – Sound of Falling

Best Costume Design
Sabrina Krämer – Sound of Falling

Best Hair and Make-up
Anne-Marie Walther, Irina Schwarz – Sound of Falling

Best Visual Effects
Michael Wortmann, Frank Schlegel – Momo (Germany/Croatia)

Audience Award for Highest-grossing Film
Manitou’s Canoe – Michael “Bully” Herbig (Germany)

Honorary Award
Wim Wenders

Bernd Eichinger Prize
Thomas Wöbke, Philipp Trauer