The film prize of the city of Hof goes to the director Aelrun Goette this year. The award was presented on Thursday evening as part of the Hofer Filmtage, as a spokeswoman for the city announced.

Goette's film "In a country that no longer exists" was released in early October. In it, she takes a look at the fashion world of the GDR with its dazzling figures. Aelrun Goette also tells her own story: Born in East Berlin in 1966, she left school herself without a high school diploma and became a nurse. And she was also discovered as a mannequin on the streets of East Berlin in the 1980s and was on the cover of the GDR fashion magazine "Sibylle".

In Hof, the director said after the award ceremony: "The last thing I want to tell you is that everything we do, especially new things, often meets with resistance. But it only gets interesting where the resistance begins ."

Actress and director Paula Knüpling held the laudatory speech. Goette is "a radical observer with an interest in people and their abysses. She always takes her counterpart seriously," she said.

Since 1986, the prize has been awarded to a personality who gives important impetus to German film and is closely associated with the Hof Film Festival. This year's prizewinner was already in 2003 at the 37th edition of the Filmtage with the documentary film "Die Kinder sind dead".

The presentation of the film prize of the city of Hof is one of the highlights of the film days. Previous award winners include Julia von Heinz, Jessica Schwarz, Peter Kern and Caroline Link. The film days end this Sunday (October 30). This year you can watch the festival contributions both on site in Hof and nationwide at home via a streaming portal.