Author Stieler: Didn't know anything about the Berlinale Screenplay Award

Created: 02/16/2022, 23:06

Actress Meltem Kaptan (l) with the Silver Bear for best actress and screenwriter Laila Stieler with the Silver Bear for best screenplay for the film "Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W Bush".

© Jens Kalaene/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa

The author Laila Stieler, who won the Silver Bear, knew nothing about a screenplay prize at the Berlinale.

The last time she was with a film at the Berlinale was twelve years ago, said Stieler on Wednesday after the award ceremony.

"Until shortly before the event, I didn't even realize that there was a script prize." Up until that moment, she had not been excited.

Berlin - "It didn't affect me at all," she said.

Stieler was recognized for her screenplay for Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush.

The film by director Andreas Dresen tells how Murat Kurnaz's mother tries to free her son from the US prison camp in Guantánamo.

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Stieler reported on working on the screenplay.

"Right from the start I was completely blown away and in love with the idea of ​​writing about this story from the mother's perspective." She then met Rabiye Kurnaz.

"She's a mother incarnate and she made it really easy for me to write about her." It's always special to write about someone who's still alive and can watch the film at the end.

"You always have a very special responsibility," said Stieler.

dpa