German Film Nominated for an Oscar
January 31, 2006
German director Marc Rothemund's film about the last days of a young anti-Nazi German has been nominated for the prestigious Oscar awards in the category "best foreign language film."
The film starring popular German actress Julia Jentsch tells the story of Sophie Scholl and her brother who were members of the White Rose student movement in Munich, which printed and distributed flyers inciting Germans to "passive resistance" against Hitler and the Nazis.
Following their interrogation by the Gestapo, Sophie and Hans Scholl were tried for treason along with fellow White Rose member Christoph Probst. All three were executed on Feb. 22, 1943. Further trials and executions of other White Rose members followed.
The film, which won Julia Jentsch the "best actress" award at the Berlin International Film Festival last year and has picked up several other European prizes, will now compete against foreign films at the Oscars.
They include the German-French co-production "Joyeux Noel -- Merry Christmas" and the Dutch-German-French production and disputed Palestinian film "Paradise Now" about two childhood friends who volunteer to be suicide bombers.