European Media Prize for “Heimatland”

The puppet animation film “Heimatland” by Andrea Schneider, Loretta Arnold, Fabio Friedli and Marius Portmann was honoured with the European Young CIVIS Media Prize, endowed with EUR 5,000.

26.05.2011

The puppet animation film “Heimatland” by Andrea Schneider, Loretta Arnold, Fabio Friedli and Marius Portmann was honoured with the European Young CIVIS Media Prize, endowed with EUR 5,000. The award was presented in four categories – television, radio, media and online – in Berlin on May 26, 2011.

For more than two decades CIVIS has awarded programme contributions which promote the peaceful coexistence of people with highly diverse national, ethnic, religious or cultural origins. The CIVIS Media Prize is organised by the Association of the Public Broadcasting Corporations in Germany (ARD), represented by Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), together with the Freudenberg Foundation.

"Heimatland" has already been honoured with two Audience Prizes in Switzerland and been invited to numerous international festivals. The European Young CIVIS Media Prize is the first international Award for the young animation filmmaking team at the Lucerne School of Art and Design. "Heimatland" tells the story of how a patriotic Swiss panics when a Turkish man moves in next door. The ironically and absurdly exaggerated image of Switzerland's fear of foreigners serves to comment on political events like the minaret referendum or the extradition initiative.

Zurich, May 26, 2011