Osram encourages young talent with the Michael Ballhaus Award

The award is presented for the first time at the First Steps Awards ceremony in Berlin

Osram, together with other companies and the Michael Ballhaus Foundation, is presenting the Michael Ballhaus Award for the first time at the First Steps Awards ceremony in Berlin. The award is for outstanding camera work. First Steps is an award for newcomers to the German film and TV industry and is presented for outstanding graduation films from film schools in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Osram itself has been instrumental for many decades in shaping the film industry. For example, Osram technology is used to illuminate one in three cinema screens throughout the world and half of all film sets. The company has been awarded an Oscar not once but twice. "We are firmly anchored in the movie industry and are sponsoring this award to encourage the new generation of cameramen and camerawomen to follow their dreams with the same passion and commitment that we invest in the development of our products", said Hans-Joachim Schwabe, CEO Specialty Lighting at Osram.

The First Steps Awards ceremony will take place on September 15, 2014 at the Stage Theater on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. These awards, organized by the German Film Academy, were first presented in the year 2000 and have become a highly regarded celebration of new talent newcomer. The Michael Ballhaus Award was inaugurated by legendary cameraman Michael Ballhaus and has been included this year for the first time. It is presented by the eponymous foundation together with Osram, Leica and Weberbank.

Award for best camera work

Michael Ballhaus has worked with world-famous directors such as Martin Scorsese and Wolfgang Petersen on movies such as The Departed, Gangs of New York and Air Force One. The Michael Ballhaus Award celebrates camera work that stands out from the rest because of innovative imagery, exceptional cinematographic talent or unobtrusive visual handling of a filmic theme.

Osram's roots in the movie industry go deep

Osram has made a name for itself in the film and cinema industry as a lighting and projection expert. This is borne out by the fact that Osram lamps are used in one in three cinema projectors throughout the world and by the Oscar awarded in 1983 for the XBO lamp.

For more information on the First Steps Awards go to http://www.firststeps.de/.