“This is the most charming statuette, it’s even more beautiful than the Oscar,” thanked actor Daniel Brühl for the Festival President’s Award and turned to Jiří Bartoška: “And to receive it from the hands of the man who has been in charge of organizing this festival for thirty years and is responsible for the fact that Karlovy Vary has become the temple of cinematography is a great honour for me.” The star with German-Catalan roots was visibly moved not only by the award, but also by the special clip played on the screen in the Grand Hall recalling his acting career from early films such as Good Bye Lenin! to more recent All Quiet on the Wester Front.
“It was beautiful to see how many kisses I received in the last decade,” Brühl blushed over the montage and continued: “Moments like this give me hope and encourage me to pursue filmmaking because this is truly magical. And now, if you’ll allow me, I’d like to take a selfie for my mum.”
After taking the commemorative picture, Brühl presented his directorial debut Next Door, which he shot during the pandemic year of 2021. “It’s a very personal film, but it’s not actually inspired by my private life. I play one of the characters and I hope you won’t think that I’m the kind of person you’ll see on the screen. I’m actually a much nicer guy,” he joked with the audience.
