Öngören Award for Democracy and Human Rights
Mahmut Tali Öngören (1931 - 1999) was a journalist, scriptwriter and co-founder of Turkish state television TRT. In 1955, he graduated from Columbia University with a degree in TV and radio journalism and took a leading role in the founding of TRT state television. Öngören was a pioneer who was committed to human rights as well as film. Thus, he co-founded Turkey's first cinematheque, the Ankara International Film Festival, the Human Rights Association, the Human Rights Foundation and the Turkish Human Rights Organization TIHAK. From the mid 90s, he was an advisor to the Film Festival Turkey Germany and thus made a great contribution to the success of the festival.
For Öngören's tireless fight in the name of democracy and human rights, the Öngören Prize is awarded annually to those directors who deal with the issues of democracy and human rights. The prize, valued at 1,000€, honors the great commitment of the directors to remind us of these fundamental rights and their abuse, even under adverse circumstances.
Award winners
2000
Güneşe Yolculuk / Reise zur Sonne
Yeşim Ustaoğlu
2003
Fotoğraf / Das Photo
Kazım Öz
2004
Vertrieben für Frieden / Barış İçin Sürülenler
Simone Sitte, Osman Okkan
2005
Politiki Kouzina / Ein Hauch von Gewürz
Tassos Boulmetis
2006
Die Unerwünschten / İstenmeyenler
Sarah Moll
2007
Kadına Ağıt / Requiem für eine Frau
Berrin Balay Tuncer, Önder Özdem
2008
Beautiful Bitch / Güzel “Bitch”
Martin Theo Krieger
2009
4857
Petra Holzer, Selçuk Erzurumlu, Ethem Özgüven
2010
Mazel Tov
Mischka Popp, Thomas Bergmann
2011
Das Herz von Jenin / Jenin’in Kalbi
Marcus Vetter, Leon Geller
2012
Zenne – Der Bauchtänzer / Zenne
Caner Alper, Mehmet Binay
2013
Waiting Area / Bekleme Alanı
Nora Tschirner, Natalie Beer
2014
Die Arier / Ariler
Mo Asumang
2015
Wir sind jung, wir sind stark / Genciz. Güçlüyüz
Burhan Qurbani
2016
Küçük Kara Balıklar / Kleine schwarze Fische
A. Haluk Ünal, Ezel Akay, Serpil Güler, Cem Terbiyeli, Önder İnce
2017
Das Versprechen / Bana Söz Ver
Marcus Vetter, Karin Steinberger
2018
Die Legende vom hässlichen König / Çirkin Kral Efsanesi
Hüseyin Tabak
2019
Kill me today, tomorrow I´m sick
Joachim Schroeder / Tobias Streck
2021
Kippa
Lukas Nathrath
2022
„Don’t Stop Motion“
Niels Bauder, Franziska Bausch-Moser