PHAROS Production Award 2026

The PHAROS Production Award for graduation film projects at the HFF Munich was presented for the fifth time / This year, it went to the HFF graduation project THE MEN I LOVE by Emil Klattenhoff (director and screenwriter), Paula Tschira, Jonas Kleinalstede (both cinematography), and Tünde Sautier (screenplay), as well as the team at Apollonia Film / The award-winning project will receive generous support totaling €150,000 for its production, including the loan of film equipment from camera rental company LUDWIG and post-production services from PHAROS – The Post Group

March 10, 2026 – For the fifth time, the PHAROS Production Award was presented to graduation film projects from the University of Television and Film (HFF) Munich that stand out for their exceptional visual design concepts. This year, the jury—comprising Christian Rein (HFF Professor of Visual Design/Cinematography), Jürgen Schopper (HFF Professor of Cinematography/VFX & HFF Vice President), Franz Kraus (HFF Honorary Professor), Michael Welzel (Head of Sales at PHAROS), Anita Schneider (Head of Production at Wiedemann&Berg), and Rita Hajjar (HFF cinematography alumna), to select an HFF graduation film project, which will be supported by the loan of film equipment from camera rental company LUDWIG (valued at €50,000) as well as post-production services from PHAROS – The Post Group (each valued at €100,000):

THE MEN I LOVE
HFF Team: Paula Tschira and Jonas Kleinalstede (both cinematography), Emil Klattenhoff (director, screenplay), Tünde Sautier (screenplay), Apollonia Film (production; including HFF graduates Marius Beck and Katharina Hein, as well as HFF student Jakob Wahl)
Logline: Thiemo realizes he loves men, and his son Janosch decides to stop going to school. Frustrated by both of their confusion, their mother leaves them alone so they can find a new way to connect.
Jury Statement: “This promising feature film project was awarded the Pharos Award. Among other things, the jury was impressed by its production readiness. Furthermore, the concept of the camera duo is considered promising for the future and thus meets the requirements of the Pharos Award call for entries.”

Graduation projects from the HFF’s two directing departments—Feature and Television Film, and Documentary Film & Television Journalism—are eligible for submission to the PHAROS Production Award. The focus is on the visual design concept. Accordingly, the submission is primarily the responsibility of the cinematography and VFX students, who produce the films as graduation projects in collaboration with their fellow students in directing, screenwriting, and production.

The award (launched in the past two years, initially as the ARRI Production Award and later renamed the Franz Kraus Production Award) was a collaboration—originally intended to last three years but since extended—between PHAROS, the camera rental company LUDWIG (part of the same corporate group), and the HFF Munich, initiated by Prof. Franz Kraus (former head of the HFF Department of Cinematography and former board member of ARRI) and Prof. Tom Fährmann (former HFF Chair of Cinematography, retiring in July 2022). The annual PHAROS Award provides funding in the form of services for the selected graduation film project: LUDWIG Camera Rental provides film equipment for the shoot, and PHAROS – The Post Group supports the subsequent post-production.

*Due to a requirement binding on the university under the General Rules of Procedure for the Free State of Bavaria dated April 1, 2024, all titles and job descriptions must be listed exclusively in the feminine and/or masculine form. Multi-gendered forms of address are not permitted. It goes without saying that individuals of all gender identities are expressly included.

Photo: Leo van Kann