Germany’s most important media award being awarded in Potsdam 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall

The BAMBI, Germany’s most important media award, will be awarded at the Babelsberg Film Park in Potsdam on 26 November 2009. That was the agreement reached by Hubert Burda Media with the federal state of Brandenburg and Potsdam City Hall. "Potsdam is one of the few cities that represent the integration of Germany after the decades of our nation’s separation and the resolute surge into a shared future", explains board member of Burda publishing house Philipp Welte. By deciding to award the BAMBI in Potsdam not just in 2009 but in 2010 as well, Hubert Burda Media is expressing its appreciation of the heroes of unification and its respect for the century-long process of integration. "Even today Germany needs courageous and determined people that do something outstanding to guide our country securely into the future", says Philipp Welte "and looking back over the last 20 years gives us strength and optimism".

20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and 60 years after the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany, a beacon for courage in Germany is to be created against this contemporary backdrop. After twice being staged in Leipzig (1990 and1996), for the third time the venue for the BAMBI is in one of the newly-formed German states. Brandenburg’s Finance Minister Rainer Speer is delighted that Potsdam has been chosen to host BAMBI for two years in a row: "This is a huge coup for the federal state of Brandenburg and media location Potsdam, which is steeped in tradition. It is also a major signal that the most important German media prize is being awarded in East Germany to mark the 20th anniversary both of the fall of the Berlin Wall and of German unification." The Minister is certain that Potsdam will prove itself worthy of the BAMBI: "We intend to be good hosts. The BAMBI will put Potsdam in the limelight of the media nationwide over the next two years. For our part we along with our associates will do our utmost to make the award ceremonies glittering and inspiring events."

For the BAMBI organisers, too, Potsdam uniquely embodies Germany’s turbulent history. The erstwhile official city of residence of Prussian kings was one of the conference locations of the Allies at which the division of Germany was initiated; during the rule of the SED regime it was the capital city of the largest region of East Germany and was linked with West Berlin via the legendary Glienicker Bridge.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Potsdam quickly became one of the symbols of the economic and cultural integration of Germany. Patricia Riekel, overall responsible for BAMBI, is looking forward to the new venue: "Potsdam is a melting pot of German society and history, European tradition and international glamour. World stars regularly shoot at the famous Babelsberg film studio, bringing Hollywood flair to Brandenburg. Against this background BAMBI 2009 in the Film Park will be an outstanding event."

The BAMBI’s connection with Babelsberg is that both have a long tradition in German film and TV entertainment. Babelsberg is where great films like Fritz Lang’s "Metropolis" (1927) and "Blue Angel" starring Marlene Dietrich (1930) were made. Babelsberg also remained a dream factory in the DDR times. Outstanding DEFA productions included "Spur der Steine" (1966) and "Die Legende von Paul und Paula" (1973), both having an impact on cultural life in East Germany. More and more Hollywood stars have come to shoot in collaboration with the Babelsberg studio: in recent years there has been Kate Winslet ("The Reader"), Tom Cruise ("Operation Valkyrie"), Matt Damon ("The Bourne Ultimatum") and Adrien Brody ("The Pianist"). Director Quentin Tarantino is currently working at Babelsberg on his film "Inglorious Basterds".

Now Germany’s most important media prize, the BAMBI was inaugurated in 1948 as a film award, and over the last 60 years has been presented to many great actors. Two of the first BAMBI prize-winners lived and worked in Babelsberg: Marika Rökk (Most Popular Actress, 1948) and Kurt Maetzig (Best Film, 1948 for "Ehe im Schatten"). In the unified Germany films such as "Good Bye, Lenin!", to which the Art Department Studio Babelsberg made a considerable contribution, was awarded a BAMBI (National Film, 2003).

Every year some six million viewers watch the awards ceremony live on the ARD’s First Channel in a TV show produced by Werner Kimmig GmbH. MDR has been ARD’s TV associate for the BAMBI awards since 1996. In this period the gala with its big national and international stars has become a successful prime time format. In the previous year some 350 journalists reported on the awards live on the spot. The reporting on BAMBI 2008 in Offenburg achieved a coverage of 3.5 billion public contacts. Previous venues hosting the BAMBI have included Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf.

The BAMBI 2009 will be awarded in the Babelsberg Film Park Metropolis Hall. Babelsberg Film Park sees itself as the shop-window, the "experience platform" of the Babelsberg media town – of its past, present and future. Since the company was set up in 1993 over eight million guests have experienced the fascinating world of film, television and radio. "Metropolis – The Hall" is a homage to the legendary film town. Babelsberg Studio is the oldest major film studio in the world and today is one of the leading locations for making film and television productions in Europe. They have been making film history in Babelsberg for 95 years. The architecture of the new event hall recalls the studio buildings of the UFA era.