Benjamin Sadler, Alexander Thies and Henriette Gotaut honoured with the LutherRose 2023
On Saturday, 11th November 2023, Benjamin Sadler, Alexander Thies and Henriette Gotaut received the Luther Rose 2023 for social responsibility and entrepreneurial courage at the Old Town Hall in Wittenberg
As part of the 16th Luther Conference, the International Martin Luther Foundation (IMLS) honoured three Luther Rose awardees for the first time. The occasion for the honour is the 20th anniversary of the 2003 film "Luther" by Eric Till, which is still considered as one of the most commercially successful German films in the USA today. IMLS CEO Dr. Thomas A. Seidel commented: "We have made a good choice with this remarkable trio of film artists. Thanks to their entrepreneurial courage, we were able to prove that Luther and his work can still move and inspire people all over the world today."
Benjamin Sadler played the role of Luther's close companion Georg Spalatin in the film. Alexander Thies and Henriette Gotaut, head of the film production company NFP, Berlin, played a leading role in the production of the film. "This year marks the 20th anniversary of the cinema release of LUTHER - and I still have fond memories of this film," Sadler said. "Playing the role of Spalatin was both an honour and a challenge for me. So I am really delighted to receive this wonderful award together with Alexander Thies and Henriette Gotaut."
Dr. Christoph Palmer gave the laudatory speech for the awardees. The former Minister of State was also Chairman of the Management Board of the Alliance of German Producers - Film & Television e. V. until 2022. For him, Benjamin Sadler is "one of the most sought-after and versatile actors in German-language film".
Henriette Gotaut, now a member of the NFP management team, oversaw the film's cinema release in Germany in 2003, and later also abroad. According to Palmer, she has since been "a central building block for the NFP's Christian-inspired filmmaking".
"Alexander Thies wants to tell stories that captivate, move and delight, but also educate in the best sense of the word," said Palmer. That is why it still saddens him today, especially in view of the symbolic character of 9 November 1989, "that he found few partners for his project >Faith Heroes in the GDR< in broadcasters, churches, politics and film funding." However, he had not yet given up hope that courageous investors would be found for this central historical-political project. In this "Faith, Courage & Freedom" project, prominent and unknown men and women who resisted the GDR dictatorship as Christians and thus contributed to the success of the Peaceful Revolution of 1989 and the new beginning in reunified Germany have their say in 40 personal interviews with contemporary witnesses. Further interviews with contemporary witnesses and film projects are being planned. More at: www.glaube-mut-freiheit-ddr.de
The Luther Conference opened with a panel discussion on “Luther, literature and canvas. The Bible as a source of artistic inspiration” at LEUCOREA. Authors Senthuran Varatharajah and Uwe Kolbe as well as Dr. Annette Weidhas, Publishing Director of Evangelische Verlagsanstalt Leipzig (EVA), took part. Dr Sebastian Kleinschmidt, the renowned essayist and former editor-in-chief of the magazine "Sinn und Form", gave the keynote speech on the topic of the conference.
The exhibition of the “Wiedmann Bible” was opened as part of the Luther Conference 2023. The exhibition was on display until the end of 2023 at “KUNST. Wittenberg” in the East Hall of the Old Town Hall in Wittenberg.
The International Martin Luther Foundation organised the Luther Conference 2023 in cooperation with the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft (German Bible Society). The event was sponsored by the Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany.