Best Directing

The Lamb in the Room

by Daniel Meier
Hamburg Media School, Germany

Jury Motivation by Nairy Esivazy

The Award for Best Directing goes to The Lamb in the Room for its mature and powerful treatment of a sensitive yet timely topic. The director demonstrates exceptional skill in creating a cohesive and compelling cinematic experience that stays with the audience long after the film ends.

Synopsis

While a second line appears on 15-year-old Zoe’s pregnancy test, her stressed-out mother Gabriella and her care-dependent grandmother Elisabeth are preoccupied with their own worries. Caught in a spiral of mutual criticism, they leave no room for Zoe’s reality.

Director's biography

Daniel Meier was born in 1994 in Minden. After graduating from high school, he studied Media Production with a focus on screenwriting and directing at the Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe. From 2020 to 2022, he worked as an assistant director at the ETA Hoffmann Theater in Bamberg. In the summer of 2023, he made his directorial debut with the musical “Singin' in the Rain” at the Goethe Open-Air Stage in Porta Westfalica, and the following year he directed the jukebox musical “Maya the Bee and Her Adventures” at the same venue. Since October 2024, he has been pursuing a master’s degree in directing at the Hamburg Media School.

Credits

Director: Daniel Meier
Screenplay: Barbara Odendahl
Cinematography: Thomas Nixon
Producer: Veronika Pfahler

Specifications

Original title: Das Lamm im Raum
Running time: 12'
Film type: Fiction
Country: Germany
Completion date: January 2026