A life split between flight, a fresh start, and resistance: for the portrait of Israeli trans activist Efrat Tilma, the NDR documentary I Am What I Am — Proud to Be a Woman was awarded the Robert Geisendörfer Prize 2026 on September 16 in Mainz. At the gala hosted by ZDF, the jury for “General Programs,” presided over by Church President Dorothee Wüst, named the film the winner in the television category.
The prize will be accepted by producers Christian Beetz and Georg Tschurtschenthaler, as well as by the film’s writers and directors Sagi Bornstein and Udi Nir. The documentary was produced in 2025 through a collaboration between NDR and Arte, with responsible editors Claudia Cellarius (NDR) and Catherine Le Goff (Arte).
The jury spoke with evident admiration: the film portrays Efrat Tilma, in the words of the justification, “up close and with deep respect” — without turning her into a hero or a symbol. Instead, the camera remains intimate yet never intrusive, offering a portrait of a person with wounds, humor, and practical wisdom for living. The film deliberately allows contradictions to stand, reminding viewers that identity is not a label but the right of each person to live a life that aligns with who they are.
Tilma’s story reads like a multi-act drama. In the 1960s in Israel, she endured repeated assaults and was pursued by the police, forcing her to flee — first through Paris, where she found a place in the legendary cabaret milieu, then to Casablanca, where she underwent gender-affirming surgery. Eventually she built a new life in Berlin. After more than 35 years in exile, she returned to Israel and became the first volunteer transgender employee of the Israeli police. In 2022, the BBC named her among the 100 most influential women of the year.
Available in the ARD Mediathek
Her German cinema debut came on November 15, 2025, when the documentary screened on Arte; since then it has been accessible in the ARD Mediathek. Internationally, the film has already made waves: it won the Weil Bloch Award for Best Film and received a nomination for the Israeli Documentary Film Award.
The Robert Geisendörfer Prize is awarded annually by the Evangelical Church in Germany for outstanding radio and television productions. This year the jury awarded eight prizes — each endowed with 5,000 euros.
