Leonie Benesch triumphs: Hannelore Elsner Prize at the film festival!

Leonie Benesch triumphs: Hannelore Elsner Prize at the film festival!

A very special event will soon take place in the picturesque surroundings of Lake Starnberg: Leonie Benesch will be at the Five Lakes Film Festival 2025 awarded the renowned Hannelore Elsner Prize. The awards ceremony will take place on September 12th in the Schlossberghalle Starnberg and is already generating unbroken anticipation among film fans and creators.

Leonie Benesch, born in 1991, will be the seventh winner in the history of this award, which honors outstanding achievements by German-speaking actresses. Before her, greats such as Barbara Auer, Nina Hoss and Corinna Harfouch received this honor. Matthias Helwig, the festival director, is enthusiastic about this award and the associated homage that Benesch is receiving.

Festival highlights and special honors

The festival days from September 9th to 16th bring with them numerous highlights. An open-air cinema will be held in advance in the seaside resort of Starnberg, which will show films from August 2nd to 17th. The highlight of the event will be the steamboat trip on Lake Starnberg on August 20th. The film “Heroine” will also be presented at the awards ceremony, while Benesch’s acting work in the films “The White Ribbon”, “September 5” and “The Teacher’s Room” will be honored.

Leonie Benesch has already made a name for herself in the German film scene. Her impressive achievements have been recognized, among other things, with the German Film Prize was rewarded for “The Teacher’s Room,” which was even nominated for an Oscar for best international film. She was also declared a “European Shooting Star” in 2023 and recently received the German Film Prize for best supporting actress in “September 5”.

A look at “September 5”

The film “September 5,” in which Benesch stars, addresses the critical events of the hostage-taking during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich from the perspective of an American sports television team. Directed by Tim Fehlbaum, viewers experience the dramatic shift from sports coverage to news coverage on that fateful day. In addition to Benesch, numerous other well-known actors such as Peter Sarsgaard and John Magaro can also be seen in the film. This production once again shows the high quality and diversity of German film.

Looking back on the festival's venerable traditions, the previous winner, Corinna Harfouch, who was awarded the Hannelore Elsner Prize in 2024, will also be presented in a new light. As the South Germans reports, her new film “The Irony of Life” will be shown at the next festival.

The Five Lakes Film Festival remains a magnet for film enthusiasts and not only brings outstanding talents like Leonie Benesch to the big stage, but also promotes the diversity and relevance of German-language film today.