The research film ‘In Search of New Physics’ from the PRISMA Cluster of Excellence at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has won the 2016 ITVA Bronze Award in the ‘Research and Development’ category. In the four-minute image film, which was produced in German and English, Mainz filmmakers Michael Schwarz and Alexander Griesser present the research field of the Cluster of Excellence “Precision Physics, Fundamental Interactions and Structure of Matter”, PRISMA for short, as well as outstanding research personalities at JGU who work on the secrets of the universe on a daily basis: Why did matter and antimatter not completely annihilate after the Big Bang? What is the invisible dark matter made of? What is the role of the mysterious neutrinos in the early universe? The ITVA Award of the Integrated TV & Video Association e.V. honors exemplary audiovisual communication solutions in 12 categories and was presented for the 21st time this year.

The two filmmakers Michael Schwarz and Alexander Griesser are graduates of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and have specialized in the development and realization of documentary works with their joint company nachtschwärmerfilm since 2007. These have already received numerous awards (four awards from the German Film and Media Rating Board FBW, various film prizes) and have been presented at over 150 national and international festivals. Their advertising films are also highly decorated, with the two filmmakers winning gold at the internationally renowned WorldMediaFestival in Hamburg in 2015. In May 2016, the JGU research film “Mainz University Research Showreel” won the Intermedia-globe SILVER Award in the “Research and Science” category.

nachtschwärmerfilm stands first and foremost for an authentic interest in people and their different living and working worlds – whether in artistically sophisticated documentaries or high-quality image film productions. The research film “In search of new physics” presents current research questions in particle and hadron physics, which are being pursued by around 300 scientists at the PRISMA cluster of excellence. Mainz’s cutting-edge research at the PRISMA Cluster of Excellence is being funded by the federal government, the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and JGU with around 35 million euros over five years as part of the Excellence Initiative of the federal and state governments.