German Documentary Film Music Award 2021: SOLDATEN (SOLDIERS)

Composition: Christoph Schauer

 


Christoph Schauer receives the German Documentary Film Music Award 2021 for his music to the film SOLDATEN (SOLDIERS).

"With the film music to SOLDATEN (SOLDIERS), Christoph Schauer has succeeded in creating a coherent, sophisticatedly unobtrusive and sparingly used, but all the more effective texture," according to the jury's statement. "It surprises in every way and, as a counterpole to the outer plot, forms an important substantial and independent complement. It does not indulge - as is perhaps usual in this genre - in expectedly 'critical' tautological tones and commentaries, but allows us to trace the inner worlds of the protagonists in a sensitive way. The fact that this - almost incidentally - also gives the targeted use of 'silence' an extraordinarily 'eloquent' musical quality is what makes this film music so strikingly fresh and sets SOLDATEN (SOLDIERS) apart overall from many productions of this kind."

Christian von Brockhausen's and Willem Konrad's film offers a fascinating insight into the inner workings of the Bundeswehr. It is about three young men who sign up for the professional army. The film accompanies them through basic training - and one of them all the way to his first war deployment. They learn to shave, even though they still lack beard growth, learn to shoot sharp and turn off their heads to follow orders. The film will be screened at DOK.fest München @home (6 to 23 May 2021).

The German Documentary Film Music Award is sponsored by the Versicherungskammer Kulturstiftung and is endowed with 5,000 euros. With this prize, which is unique in Germany, DOK.fest München honours the artistic significance of music in documentaries. The prize is supported by the Promotion and Assistance Fund of the German Composers' Association (DKV) and the German Film Composers' Union (DEFKOM).

 

The nominees

972 BREAKDOWNS – AUF DEM LANDWEG NACH NEW YORK
Composition: Daniel von Rüdiger, Stefan Carl, Director: Daniel von Rüdiger

DER WILDE WALD (DOK.fest München 2021 @home)
Composition: Sebastian Fillenberg, Director: Lisa Eder

A CLOWN – A LIFE
Composition: Ernst Molden, Der Nino from Vienna, Director: Harald Aue

GLITTER & DUST
Composition: Peta Devlin, Thomas Wenzel, Paul Eisenach, Direction: Anna Koch, Julia Lemke, Badabum Duo

CLASS FIGHT
Composition: Elias Gottstein, Director: Sobo Swobodnik

LAND (DOK.fest München 2021 @home)
Composition: Vladyslav Sendecki, Director: Timo Großpietsch

MARY BAUERMEISTER – ONE AND ONE IS THREE (DOK.fest München 2021 @home)
Composition: Simon Stockhausen, Director: Carmen Belaschk

SOLDATEN (SOLDIERS) (DOK.fest München 2021 @home)
Composition: Christoph Schauer, Director: Christian von Brockhausen, Willem Konrad

ZURICH DIARY
Composition: Tomas Korber, Director: Stefan Haupt

 

The jury

We are pleased to present the jury for the German Documentary Film Music Award 2021.

This year's jurors are ...