Grimme Prize for series "Sam - a Saxon"

The seven-part series "Sam - ein Sachse" has been awarded the Grimme Prize in the "Fiction" category. As the production company Ufa Fiction announced on Saturday, Tyron Ricketts, Jörg Winger and Christoph Silber, directors Soleen Yusef and Sarah Blaßkiewitz and lead actor Malick Bauer accepted the prestigious award on Friday evening in the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Marl.

"We are very pleased that the Grimme jury has recognized the achievement of our exceptionally diverse team in creating a series that is so relevant to our time and at the same time timeless," said the creators of the series. For directors Yusef and Blaßkiewitz, the nomination is "like an accolade". The production by streaming provider Disney+ about an Afro-German police officer in Saxony is based on a real case and deals with the topic of racism, among other things. The directors emphasized: "Let's never stop fighting fascism, the AfD and all opponents of democracy with the right means - for example with a Grimme Award."

Main actor Malick Bauer and the actual former Saxon police officer Samuel Meffire posed together on the red carpet in Marl. The Grimme Institute is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the award this year and is experiencing considerable financial difficulties. A six-figure financial shortfall for the current year could only be closed by employees giving up their salaries.