The 2026 winner is Dennis Banemann. For his outstanding cinematography in numerous Filmakademie productions, he received the award trophy designed by Branko Šmon from Dr Wolfgang Brunk and Martin Pfuderer, Chairman of the Lions Club’s Friends’ Association.
Roland Mönch, study coordinator in the Department of Cinematography, has mentored Banemann for several years and says of him: “Dennis Banemann combines exceptional visual precision with great narrative sensitivity. His work demonstrates a keen sense of atmosphere and dramaturgy.”
Banemann was born in the Palatinate in 1990. After completing his A-levels, he initially trained as a paramedic and discovered his passion for storytelling through images whilst working in the emergency services. Following a degree in journalism in Mainz and his first film projects, his path led him to Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in 2019.
Since then, he has been involved in numerous fiction films and documentary productions, which have been screened at festivals such as the Berlinale and the Max Ophüls Prize. Several works were created in collaboration with SWR and ARTE. In 2025, his film AT HOME I FEEL LIKE LEAVING, realised in collaboration with director Simon Maria Kubiena, was awarded the German Short Film Award.
In his graduation film BOMBE, Banemann portrays the artist Volker Bombe, exploring themes such as loneliness, friendship and memory.
Banemann describes his visual approach as follows: “Questions of objective reality take a back seat for me. What matters is the intended effect: to make the protagonists tangible and allow them to become a projection screen for the audience. Through light, movement and proximity, a space of experience is created in which the audience not only sees the character’s inner world, but also experiences it.”
Following his studies, he plans to realise a 90-minute debut film.
