In its issue of May 18, 2015, the Tagesspiegel printed Samuel Finzi’s laudation for Gala Winter.

Samuel Finzi was born in Plovdiv (Bulgaria) in 1966 as son of the pianist Gina Tabakova and the actor Itzhak Finzi. While studying at the National Academy of Theater and Film Arts in Sofia, he played first dramatic and movie roles and, in the course of his career, collaborated with a variety of directors that have left their mark on European theater and film: Benno Besson, Jürgen Gosch, Werner Schröter, Robert Wilson, Frank Castorf, Johan Simons, Michael Thalheimer, and Dimiter Gotscheff. Finzi has received multiple awards for his varied and ingenious performances, including the Düsseldorf Performing Arts Award. In March 2015, he and Wolfram Koch were jointly awarded the Gertrud Eysoldt Ring for their performances in “Waiting for Godot.”

Samuel Finzi is the latest in a line of prominent Kerr Prize judges, including Bernhard Minetti, Marianne Hoppe, Ulrich Mühe, Ulrich Matthes, Martin Wuttke, Martina Gedeck, Eva Mattes, Nina Hoss, Thomas Thieme, and Edith Clever. As they always managed to discover the most talented among the emerging actors, the list of the previous prize recipients reads like a “Who’s Who” of the current generation of actors. The Schering Stiftung supports the award to promote young talents in the performing arts. Previous prize winners include Steffi Kühnert, Kathrin Angerer, Johanna Wokalek, Fritzi Haberlandt, Lina Beckmann, August Diehl, Devid Striesow, Wiebke Puls, Felix Goeser, Julischka Eichel, Kathleen Morgeneyer, Paul Herwig, Fabian Hinrichs, Julia Häusermann, and Valery Tscheplanowa.

The awarding of the Alfred Kerr Acting Prize is made possible through the support of the Alfred Kerr Foundation, the Tagesspiegel, and the Schering Stiftung.