The German Short Film Award 2007 goes to "Das gefrorene Meer" by Lukas Miko. Award presented by Minister of State for Culture and Media Bernd Neumann on 13 November 2007 in cooperation with the BMW Group.

Munich/Potsdam. The "German Short Film Award 2007" was
presented yesterday in the presence of an array of film-makers and
famous representatives of the film industry by Minister of State for
Culture and Media Bernd Neumann in cooperation with the BMW Group. At a
celebratory gala event in Potsdam, the Minister handed over the most
important, and most valuable, award for German short films. The
winner of the German Short Film Award 2007 in the feature film category
- "Das gefrorene Meer" directed by Lukas Miko - was supported
at the production stage by the BMW Group. The film-makers that are
regarded by the BMW Group as being worthy of support have been
successful with their projects at both national and international film
festivals. An Oscar awards ceremony without mention of the high-quality
German short films is practically inconceivable. The pioneering film
style of these talented young Germans reflects the high quality and
relevance of the German short film scene. The platform for the
award-winning, internationally recognised films, however, is ultimately
still their presentation in cinemas and on television. Unfortunately,
the route to commercialisation is still difficult, despite the digital
opportunities now available. Many worthwhile films and interesting
items thus never reach the wider public arena. The BMW Group is
therefore committed to this sector in the long term, working, for
example, with AG Kurzfilm on a number of interesting ways of providing a
worthy platform for short films. Famous short film festivals, such as
the Landshuter Kurzfilmtage (Landshut Short Film Festival) or the
Regensburger Kurzfilmwoche (Regensburg Short Film Week), have been
supported by the regional BMW plants for many years. And short films
are also supported internationally within the BMW Group: mention must be
made in particular of innovative short film projects that have been
completed in Malaysia, Korea and Dubai. A brief list of the winners of
the German Short Film Award 2007. From the 243 films which were allowed
to compete, the jury nominated 10 films. The following short film
projects were the winners: The Gold Short Film Award for feature films
lasting between seven and 30 minutes went to "Das gefrorene
Meer" directed by Lukas Miko. The Gold Short Film Award for
documentary films was shared by "Cigaretta mon amour - Portrait
meines Vaters" directed by Rosa Hannah Ziegler and "Die
Akkordeonspielerin" from Biljana Garvanlieva. The Gold Short Film
Award for an animation/ experimental film was awarded to "The
runt" by Andreas Hykade. Nominated films receive an award of
15,000 EUR. Gold award winners receive a prize of 30,000 EUR, which
includes the nomination prize. Short films supported by the BMW Group
that are competing in the race for the Golden Lola: "15 Minuten
Wahrheit" Made by: Baden-Württemberg Film Academy,
Ludwigsburg; director and writer: Nico Zingelmann; running time: 15
minutes When fifty-year-old Georg Komann learns that he is to be
dismissed at short notice, along with his whole department, he and his
colleagues realise they are facing personal disaster - no-one will take
on any new staff over fifty. Komann puts together a plan aimed at
securing them at least a reasonable settlement. He asks his boss for a
meeting - a meeting that is to last 15 minutes. "Das gefrorene
Meer" Made by: naked eye filmproduction GmbH & Co. KG, Munich,
in co-production with Martin Gschlacht Filmproduktion, Vienna, with the
assistance of Bayerische Rundfunk, Munich; director and writer: Lukas
Miko; running time: 28 minutes Eight-year-old Marco suffers because
his father is often absent. His father even has to go away suddenly on
Christmas morning. Working, his mother says. But Marco believes it's
because of her quarrelsome nature. When Marco thinks he has seen his
father through the bus window, his confusion is complete. Are his
parents keeping something secret from him? Or is his longing for his
father blinding him to the truth? Marco puts his parents and himself to
the test. Further information about the involvement of the BMW Group
in the area of national and international short film, along with a
current press photo of the winners with Minister of State for Culture
and Media Bernd Neumann, can be downloaded from the BMW Group PressClub
at www.press.bmwgroup.com.