Above Us Only Sky wins Berlin Europa Cinemas Label

Writer/director Jan Schomburg’s Above Us Only Sky has won the Europa Cinemas Label for Best European Film in the Panorama section of the Berlinale.

The feature will now receive the support of the Europa Cinemas exhibitors who ensure an extended run for the film and additional promotion across the Network.

Starring Sandra Hüller, Georg Friedrich and Felix Knopp the story follows a young woman whose life is turned upside down after two policemen pay her a visit.

Claudia Steffen and Christoph Friedel produced for Pandora Filmproduktions, while Bavaria Film International is handling sales.

The jury, comprising the exhibitors Wilko Schuringa (Netherlands), Salvatore Cordaro (Italy), Gábor Böszörményi (Hungary) and Till Burandt von Kameke (Germany) issued the following statement: “Jan Schomburg’s film is an exceptionally well-made film – a very powerful, contemporary story about coming to terms with loss. Sandra Hüller gives a really extraordinary performance as a woman who has to deal with the discovery that the man she has lived with for many years is not the man she thought he was.”

“Schomburg’s economical story-telling is very well paced, and there is humour in the film alongside the strong emotions. We feel that audiences around Europe, like the press and public here in Berlin, will react positively to this intelligent and unpredictable examination of themes so common to all of us.”

The Europa Cinema Network extends across 68 countries, 1,005 cinemas and 2,778 screens.