The Bremen Film Award 2026 goes to

Vanessa Redgrave

She has appeared in over 150 productions in almost 70 years and, at 89, is still in front of the camera. In 2026, three new productions in which she is involved will be released. At the same time, she continues to work tirelessly on behalf of the oppressed and disadvantaged, and does not shy away from conflict.

Vanessa Redgrave comes from a dynasty of actors and initially enjoyed great success in the theater. Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams describe her as the most important British actress in English theater. For her first leading role in the film “Protest” in 1966, she was nominated for an Oscar and won the award for best actress at Cannes. She achieved international fame with Michelangelo Antonioni’s cult film “Blow Up.” In 1977, she finally won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in “Julia” alongside Jane Fonda and Meryl Streep. 

Redgrave worked with Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, and Anthony Hopkins in classics such as “Murder on the Orient Express” and “Howards End”. Her characters, as in “Blow Up” and “Julia”, are often fascinating women who radiate a certain aloofness or carry a secret. As a character actress, Redgrave is able to achieve extreme effect with the slightest of gestures. Her roles are varied and demanding: from the queen (“Anonymous”) to the transsexual tennis player (“Second Serve”) to the frenzied nun (“The Devils”). 

“It’s impossible to act if you don’t know anything about human nature. You have to study it. You have to explore yourself. Find out who you are. I study people and myself,” she explained in a television interview in 2008.

Vanessa Redgrave has never shied away from using her privileged position to make political statements, even when it has been to her disadvantage. More than once, she has been rejected by producers as “too politically radical.” A staunch leftist, she has demonstrated against the Vietnam War, in support of the IRA, and against the use of nuclear power. As a UNESCO ambassador, she continues to work tirelessly to protect children in war. In 1999, she refused a knighthood because the proposal came from Tony Blair, as the invasion of Iraq was contrary to international law, and only accepted the honor from the Queen herself in 2022. In 2017, her social commitment culminated in her first work as a director, the documentary film “Sea Sorrow,” in which she links personal childhood memories of World War II with the European refugee crisis. 

With Vanessa Redgrave, we honor an exceptional artist for her life’s work, whose art cannot be separated from her life and her political stance. Through her roles, she has repeatedly addressed the fact that the world is not just black and white. Or as she said in an interview:

” If you’re not happy to embrace contradictions you’re not going to get very far in understanding anything. ”

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