Berlin

Petzhold (the third one on top, from the left in this pic) is also a jury member of the international jury at the current Berlinale edition.

The German Film Critics Association (Verband der deutschen Filmkritik e.V. VdFk) is an interest group of mainly film journalists and film scholars who are active in all fields of media.

Established as “Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Filmjournalisten e.V.” in Düsseldorf on 15 February 1954, the association defends the concerns of German film critics and film journalists. The German Film Critics Association informs its members about political discussions, festival events, publications and developments that touch the field of cinema. Furthermore, it presents symposia and seminars. The office of the association is presently located in Berlin.

With more than 300 members the association is the largest national section of the International Federation of Film Critics (Fédération internationale de la Presse Cinématographique FIPRESCI). In cooperation with FIPRESCI the German association dispatches journalists to take part in the critics juries of numerous international festivals.

The members of the association choose the winners of the annual German Film Critics Award in the categories Best Director, Best Feature Debut, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Documentary, Best Script, Best Cinematography and Best Music, as well as in the fields of short and experimental cinema.