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Producer Janine Jackowski has quietly fostered a new era of art-house German cinema off lauded output from directors Maren Ade and Ulrich Kohler (who happen to be married) and has extended into significant collaborations with Romanian auteurs and Portugal’s Miguel Gomes. But Jackowski’s most significant contribution has been as producer to Ade, having worked on her 2003 debut The Forest for the Trees, her excellent 2009 sophomore film Everyone Else, and then the 2016 international break-out Toni Erdmann which competed at Cannes, snagged an Oscar nod, and has been tapped for an American remake (rumored to…...

Maren Ade with Peter Simonischek and Sandra Hüller of Toni Erdmann win five European Film Awards Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Toni Erdmann, Germany's Oscar submission for Best Foreign Language Film swept the European Film Awards last night, winning Best Film, Best Director and Screenwriter - Maren Ade, Best Actor - Peter Simonischek, and Best Actress - Sandra Hüller.

Maren Ade : "There's really a different dress code for a German business woman than for others." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Maren Ade teamed up again with costume designer Gitti Fuchs and editor Heike Parplies of her The Forest For The Trees (Der Wald Vor Lauter Bäumen) and Everyone Else (Alle Anderen). Sandra Hüller, Maren Ade and I spoke about the costume choices, hierarchies and Rainer Maria Rilke's novel Die Aufzeichnungen des Malte Laurids Brigge.

Toni Erdmann had its world premiere at Cannes, winning the Fipresci Prize and it received the Fipresci Film...

Sandra Hüller with Toni Erdmann director/writer Maren Ade Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Maren Ade has teamed up again with costume designer Gitti Fuchs and editor Heike Parplies of her The Forest For The Trees (Der Wald Vor Lauter Bäumen) and Everyone Else (Alle Anderen) to bring us Germany's Oscar submission Toni Erdmann, starring Sandra Hüller and Peter Simonischek.

Rainer Maria Rilke, Andy Kaufman's Tony Clifton, meerkats (not from Ang Lee's Life Of Pi), Frauke Finsterwalder's Finsterworld, vintage Yves Saint Laurent, and corporate madness came up in my conversation with Maren Ade and Sandra Hüller.

Kent Jones with Maren Ade, Peter Simonischek and Sandra Hüller Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

With a supporting cast including Viktorija Malektorovych, Hadewych Minis, Lucy Russell, Michael Wittenborn, Ingrid Bisu, Thomas Loibl, and Trystan Pütter, Ade gives her characters a chance to rediscover themselves in song and skin-deep encounters of the third or fourth or fifth kind.

MADRID -- The German film The Forest for the Trees won the best feature prize at this year's 20th International Cinema Jove Festival in Valencia, Spain, which spotlights films by directors younger than 35, organizers announced Sunday. Directed by Maden Ade, the film beat out eight other contenders for the Golden Valencia Moon Award and a cash prize of €18,000 ($22,000). The Forest for the Trees tells the story of a young woman who moves to a small town after breaking up with her lover and the problems she encounters there.

MADRID -- Ten features and 66 shorts will be shown in the official section of this year's 20th International Cinema Jove Festival, which spotlights films by directors younger than 35, organizers said Tuesday. Features vying for the €18,000 ($22,000) best feature prize include Looking for Alexander by Francis Leclerc (Canada), The Forest for the Trees by Maren Ade (Germany) and Spanish entry Polar: Home by Pau Martinez and Gabriel Ochoa. Countries represented in the short-film competition include the U.S., Britain, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Russia, France and Mexico.