Fatih Akin's Golden Bear-winner Head-On is the favourite for this year's German Film Awards after it received four nominations in the categories for best film, direction, actor and leading actress.

Three nominations each also went to Sönke Wortmann's The Miracle Of Bern, Leander Haussmann's Berlin Blues and Christian Petzold's Wolfsburg.

The fact that the nomination jury did not let itself be blinded by established names or box office success - for example, Margarethe von Trotta's Venice success Rosenstrasse and the family film Das Sams In Gefahr were absent - was the reason for some downcast faces at the party after the nomination event in Berlin. But others welcomed the jury's decision to recognise such "small" films as Sylke Anders' Kroko, Marcus Mittermeier's Muxmäuschenstill and Christian Petzold's Wolfsburg.

The winners will be announced on June 18.


The complete lineup of nominations are:
Best Feature Film - The Miracle of Bern, Head-On, Berlin Blues, Kroko, Muxmäuschenstill, Wolfsburg
Best Children's/Youth Film - Blindgänger, Die Wilden Kerle
Best Documentary - The Story Of The Weeping Camel, Die Kinder Sind Tot
Best Leading Actress - Nina Hoss (Wolfsburg), Sibel Kekilli (Head-On), Johanna Wokalek (Hierankl)
Best Leading Actor - Josef Bierbichler (Hierankl), Horst Krause (Schultze Gets The Blues), Birol Uenel (Head-On)
Best Supporting Actress - Katja Danowski (Berlin Blues), Johanna Gastdorf (The Miracle Of Bern), Fritzi Haberlandt (Learning To Lie)
Best Supporting Actor - Detlev Buck (Berlin Blues), Fritz Roth (Muxmäuschenstill), Hinnerk Schönemann (Kroko)
Best Direction - Fatih Akin, Christian Petzold, Sönke Wortmann