Awards - 17th Munich International Documentary Film Festival, 4.5.2002

Honorable mention goes to
MEIN KLEINES KIND / My Little One (Germany 2001) by Katja Baumgarten
The Jury confers an honourable mention to a film that treats in an equally intimate as in the same time respectful way a topic of literally death and life. It occurs very seldom that a filmmaker like encompasses so manifold competence that allows him or her to speak out - in our case the qualifications of a long time midwife, a concerned mother of several children and a documentary filmmaker by formation. In the way this extremely personal film, in all of this greatly supported by the tactful camera work of Gisela Tuchtenhagen, touches a very general socio-medical and philosophical subject matter. Thus it can give support even to those who have to make such crucial decisions themselves.

International Jury: CECILIA LIDIN (European Documentary Network, Copenhagen), ANITA UZULNIECE (Film Festival "And the World Became Film", Riga), THOM PALMEN (Umeå International Film Festival/ Sweden), STEFANO TIALDI (Film producer, co-ordinator INPUT/ Italy), OSKAR HOLL (Bavarian Television / Munich)

Querelles-Net Rewiev Journal for Women's and Gender Studies, FU Berlin
52th Berlinale 2002: Return of the Political & Women Change the World

The autobiographical film, MEIN KLEINES KIND (My Little One), shown in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino section, is directed by Katja Baumgarten, a midwife and film director. The movie allows its viewers become witnesses to a reflexive and sensitive process of encountering and addressing ethical values, and of making a self-determined decision about life and death. In the 21st week of her pregnancy, the single mother of three children learned that her unborn baby suffered from a complex genetic defect, and was suspected of having some chromosomal anomalies. Medical doctors advised Baumgarten to terminate the pregnancy immediately. Composed as a series of relatively simple pictures, this film documents how Baumgarten deals with the demands of having to decide whether to have this baby, as well as having to decide how long and under which conditions it should be allowed to live. In the end, Martin Tim is born and, during the few hours of his short life, experiences what it means to be welcomed and loved in this world. Mein Kleines Kind meets ethically high standards and documents the love and self-determination of a woman.

German Review