BAB Sustainability Award

Since 2022, we have placed a special focus on sustainability within our festival. From all submissions in the competitions Humor, Innovation, Local films and the German premieres, the festival selects those films that are dedicated to the topic of sustainability – whether in a documentary or fictional manner and regardless of form and length. During selection, particular attention was paid to the ecological aspects of sustainability, but sustainable living and working models are also taken into consideration.

In our world, it is becoming increasingly important to address the issues of climate change, water preservation, sustainable agriculture, species protection and the work environment if we want to live well with each other in the future. This year’s contributions approach these topics on very different ways: Some are fictional, others documentary; some satirical or bizarre, animated or experimental. In this way, the sustainable significance of our future is brought to our attention again and again. This special prize is intended to cover a spectrum within our society and raise our awareness of a future worth living.

The BAB Sustainability Award will be presented on Sunday, April 19th 2026 at Theater Bremen / Kleines Haus.

Ralf Stapp, Chairman of the Management Board
BAB – Bremer Aufbau-Bank

Greetings from BAB

Bremen and Bremerhaven combine vibrant urban spaces with valuable natural and coastal areas — from the banks of the River Weser to meadows, protected areas, and port zones. Biodiversity forms a central foundation of our lives and is crucial to the future viability of our state. This diversity shapes our lives and extends far beyond the region.

Filmfest Bremen brings socially relevant issues to the forefront, strengthens the regional film scene, and attracts attention far beyond Bremen. This year’s BAB Sustainability Award places a focus on biodiversity, as ecological stability, climate resilience, and sustainable development form the foundation of our future economic viability. Together with the festival, we are contributing to making biodiversity tangible both ecologically and culturally.

This year, the BAB is donating a prize of €2.500 for the Best Film in the category “Sustainability”.

presented by…

The nominated films 2026:

Rhino

Escape From Extinction: Rewilding

Tian – Generation Farmfluencer

Saving Spoonie

The nominated short films 2026:

HUMAN/NATURE
Short films Sustainability

Jury 2026

Björn Jantzen

Since completing his Master’s degree in “Professional Public Decision Making” in 2016, he has been working at BAB-Die Förderbank für Bremen und Bremerhaven, initially as a project manager for energy efficiency and sustainability and now as a sustainability manager.

Uwe Müller

“Well-protected” growing up in the GDR, Uwe Müller always wanted to see more of the world than his home region of Altenburger Land. To discover what was “forbidden” to him in the East, he applied for an exit visa and moved to Bremen in 1988, where he subsequently lived for over 20 years.

In the 1990s, he took advantage of his new freedom to travel to distant countries and bought a video camera to bring something back to those who had stayed at home. With a particular focus on nature, he made short films, taught himself directing, editing and cinematography, then became a member of a film club in Bremen and won first prizes at amateur film festivals. After winning a top prize from marine biologist Hans Hass at Biovision in Düsseldorf in 1996, he turned professional.

He has been working as an author, cameraman, director and producer for 30 years. He has produced nature and science documentaries in Europe, Africa, Antarctica and South America, especially in Argentina, where he lived for over 10 years, for numerous renowned broadcasters (ARD/ZDF/ARTE/Nat Geo). He has won awards at festivals for many of his films, including the German Film Award for Biodiversity and the German Nature Film Award.

He now lives back in his old home town, but returns to the Hanseatic city every year, partly to see how Werder Bremen is doing 😉

Svenja Pohlmann

Svenja Pohlmann has been volunteering with Sea Shepherd in marine conservation since 2022 and supports the media team in creating video content. She was involved in the Baltic Sea Campaign, Operation Siracusa and most recently the Living Fjords Campaign to document and combat violations in various areas.

Svenja has been working as an editor at Norddeutscher Rundfunk since 2020 and last year passed her master’s examination in media production for image and sound.