| From October 9-13, 2024 the Cinéma L'Arlequin in Paris opened its doors again for the 29th Festival du Cinéma Allemand. The festival kicked off with a sold-out screening of FROM HILDE, WITH LOVE in the presence of the DoP Judith Kaufmann. The "Avant Premiere" was organized in cooperation with the French distributor Haut et Court and the Goethe Institute Paris, with the kind support of ARTE. It was attended by around 400 German film fans. The festival continued with a very special focus on Judith Kaufmann in cooperation with the Goethe Institute and the support of the DFJW/OFAJ. During her three-day stay in Paris, the director of photography held a masterclass for students of the Sorbonne Nouvelle at the Goethe Institute Paris, and presented the films CORSAGE and WHEN WE LEAVE in the Cinéma L'Arlequin. Furthermore, director Angelina Maccarone and FACE TO FACE talent Banafshe Hourmazdi presented the political thriller TURNING TABLES (KLANDESTIN) to the French press and audiences; it was screened twice at this year's edition. Other highlights of the festival included the "Avant Premiere" of RIEFENSTAHL by Andres Veiel and TREASURE by Julia von Heinz, as well as the Next Generation Short Tiger 2024 programme, which was presented by the young director Bianca Scali (IT’S JUST A WHOLE). The festival ended in a convivial way on Sunday evening, with the screening of EVERY YOU EVERY ME by Michael Fetter Nathansky in the presence of actress Aenne Schwarz. A total of 2800 visitors enjoyed the German films during the festival, which represents an increase of 15 percent. The films FROM HILDE, WITH LOVE and WINNERS, who share the audience award, were particularly popular with the audiences - hats off to them! List of films screened: FROM HILDE, WITH LOVE by Andreas Dresen (Haut et Court)
EVERY YOU EVERY ME by Michael Fetter Nathansky
MÜNTER & KANDINSKY by Marcus O. Rosenmüller
RIEFENSTAHL by Andres Veiel (Arp Sélection)
TREASURE by Julia von Heinz (Haut et Court)
ELBOW by Asli Özarslan
SCORCHED EARTH by Thomas Arslan
WE CALL HER HANKA by Grit Lemke
WINNERS by Soleen Yusef
TURNING TABLES (KLANDESTIN) by Angelina Maccarone
CORSAGE by Marie Kreutzer (Ad Vitam)
WHEN WE LEAVE by Feo Aladag (Wildbunch)
Next Generation Short Tiger 2024 (various directors) The Festival of German Films in Paris is organized in cooperation with the Goethe Institute Paris and with the friendly support of ARTE and the DFJW/OFAJ. | |
| The German Film Office joined Chicago International Film Festival’s 60th anniversary edition with a special segment dedicated to “Germany on Screen” including the North American premieres of Aslı Özge’s award-winning documentary FARUK, TURNING TABLES by Angelina Maccarone, and Natja Brunkhorst’s box-office hit TWO TO ONE, with Özge, Brunkhorst, and actor Banafshe Hourmazdi in attendance. Banafshe Hourmazdi, one of this year’s FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS ambassadors, was also invited to serve in the New Directors Jury that presents three prestigious awards at the festival. Other films in the “Germany on Screen” segment included THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG by Mohammad Rasoulof, SEPTEMBER 5 byTim Fehlbaum, HAPPY HOLIDAYS by Scandar Copti, MY STOLEN PLANET by Farahnaz Sharifi, and a special “70 Years of German Cinema” screening of Maren Ade’s TONI ERDMANN. All the films were sold out and the audience enjoyed the opportunity to speak to the attending filmmakers. To round off a successful festival, there were also three awards for German films, one for a feature film, one for a documentary, and one for a short film: - International Feature Film Competition - Silver Hugo for Best Screenplay for THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG by Mohammad Rasoulof
- International Documentary Competition - Silver Hugo for MY STOLEN PLANET by Farahnaz Sharifi
- Animated Short Film Competition - Gold Hugo for BUTTERFLY KISS by Zohar Dvir
More about the German Film Office here
Subscribe to the newsletter | |
| Writer-director Soleen Yusef, one of this year’s talents of our FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS campaign, toured two cities in the US this October to present her current film to American audiences. First, the FACE TO FACE ambassador attended the 18th annual GERMAN CURRENTS FILM FESTIVAL 2024, which was held in Los Angeles from October 11-14. Her award-winning kids' drama WINNERS had its LA premiere at the children's matinee at the historic Egyptian Theatre in the heart of Hollywood, followed by an exclusive screening for LA schools, both featuring insightful discussions and Q&As with Soleen. She then travelled on to Washington for another screening of WINNERS, the German Film Award winner for best Youth and Children’s Film, at the local Goethe Institute in DC. | |
| From October 10-20, 2024, the 13th Sehenswert Film Festival took place in Budapest. With the support of German Films, the Swiss Embassy, the Austrian Cultural Forum and the Goethe Institute Hungary organized the event. The film festival was opened by Hans Steinbichler’s A WHOLE LIFE. Various German films and co-productions were screened, including WHEN WILL IT BE AGAIN LIKE IT NEVER WAS BEFORE by Sonja Heiss, and TWO TO ONE by Natja Brunckhorst with Peter Kurth. Both Sonja Heiss and Peter Kurth presented their films personally and answered the audience's questions in a Q&A afterwards. The lunch with Hungarian distributors organized by German Films was well attended and gave the opportunity for mutual discussion. More information and the whole program can be found here. | |
| In 2024, German Films attended the MIA Market in Rome for the fourth time. The international platform and market for the audiovisual industry took place for the tenth time in Rome from 14-18 October 2024 and bringing together over 2800 industry participants from 60 countries for over 80 panels and events - an increase of 10% in visitors compared to the previous year. The four pillars and focal points of the MIA Market remained unchanged with feature film, drama, animation and documentary. The MIA Market is both a physical and digital market for feature films (fiction, animation and documentary) and series (drama, documentary, factual and animation), featuring a total of 120 selected projects. Over 80 events in all, comprising 5 content showcases (C EU Soon, GREENLit, AnyShow, Italians Doc It Better, International Factual Forum), 4 pitching forums, more than 60 market screenings and film presentations, 6 awards (the newly created MIA Development Award, Paramount New Stories Award, GEDI Visionary Award, Screen International Award, WIFTMI Award, Carlo Bixio Award). Innovations included the ultra-tech area with huge LED panels, XR and VR screenings and live podcasts. The panel organized by German Films entitled "The new German Film Law in 2025" was moderated by renowned journalist Nick Vivarelli from Variety. Panel guests included Philipp Kreuzer, CEO of maze pictures, Jonas Dornbach, CEO of Komplizen Film, and Birthe Klinge, funding executive at the FFA, the German Federal Film Board. The panel taking place at Cinema Barberini on October 15 was well attended by international guests and provided the perfect platform for information about the new German Film Funding Law. More information on the MIA Market is available here. | |
| At this year’s MIPCOM market, German Films, as in previous years, hosted the GERMAN PAVILION at the Festival Palais in Cannes. The umbrella booth has existed since 2006, and this year it presented the German world sales companies Albatross World Sales, Blueprint Media, Euroarts, German Documentaries, and The Playmaker Munich, as well as Spiegel TV and some other German TV companies as meeting point partners. The MIPCOM business on the Croisette was lively, and with over 330 exhibitors, over 2,500 buyers, and more than 11,000 TV executives from over 100 countries attending, it was a very successful market for all German sales company participants who were part of the German Films Umbrella booth this sunny October. | |
| The German-Iranian-French co-production THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG by Mohammad Rasoulof has won this year’s Arab Critics' Award for European Films, which is being presented for the fifth time by European Film Promotion (EFP) and the Arab Cinema Center (ACC). The drama is also the German Entry for the 97th Oscars® in the "Best International Feature Film" category. The producer of the film, Mani Tilgner (Run Way Pictures), gratefully received the trophy on the director’s behalf at the award ceremony: "I am deeply honored to accept this wonderful award here in El Gouna on behalf of Mohammad Rasoulof and the entire team. My heartfelt thanks go to European Film Promotion, the Arab Cinema Center and the El Gouna Film Festival, but above all to the jury of the Arab Critics' Awards for European Films who selected our’s from among all the films. This recognition assures us that we not only succeeded in producing a good film under difficult conditions but also in telling a story that moves people around the world-whether in the USA, Europe, or the Arab countries." THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG by Mohammad Rasoulof was selected from a total of 22 European films, including nine Oscar submissions, and made it to the shortlist of the final three. 89 of the most prominent and influential Arab film critics from 15 Arab-speaking countries have now announced the winning film during the El Gouna Film Festival (October 24 – November 1, 2024). | |
| Black Nights Stars, a programme that highlights upcoming actors, has announced its selection of eight promising young talents for 2024. Chosen from over two hundred submissions, the actors will take part in a comprehensive programme of workshops and lectures designed to help them succeed in the international film industry. This year, Zethphan Smith-Gneist will be the German Black Nights Star. Zethphan was born in New York and grew up in Berlin. He played his first leading role in an episode of the X-Filme TV series ZEIT VERBRECHEN, which was shown at the Berlinale in February. He was also seen in a scene with Cate Blanchett in Todd Field's TÁR. Black Nights Stars is a program launched by the Black Nights Film Festival in 2017. It is designed to help young actors from the Baltic Sea region—Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland—gain international visibility and promote themselves inside and outside their home territories. The program facilitates connections with international film professionals and training in practical skills for their future international careers. The program is part of the industry platform Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, which takes place from November 19-22. The festival will take place in the Estonian capital from November 8-24, 2024. | |
| It was a big night for German director Jens Kevin Georg and his team: The German short film CRUST (KRUSTE) produced at Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF was awarded Silver in the Narrative category in the 51th Student Academy Awards® competition. In his film CRUST, director and screenwriter Jens Kevin Georg tells a story of growing up: 12-year-old Fabi is finally supposed to prove himself as a fully-fledged member of the family. But he can only become one of them with his first wound, which crusts into a scar. Fabi wants to belong too, but how much will be left of him (and his skin)? When he is faced with a daring challenge, Fabi has to make a decision. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored its student winners from colleges and universities around the world at the 51st Student Academy Awards® ceremony. Gold, Silver and Bronze placements were announced and trophies presented during a ceremony held at the ODEON Luxe Leicester Square in London, in partnership with Rolex. This year, the Student Academy Awards competition received a total of 2,683 entries from 738 colleges and universities worldwide. All Student Academy Award-winning films are eligible to compete for the Oscars® in the Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film or Documentary Short Film categories. | |
| Over the years, the Résidence du Festival de Cannes has established itself as a key venue for many of the world’s emerging film talents. From October 1, 2024, to February 15, 2025, the 48th session welcomes six promising new filmmakers, four women and two men, to Paris, including two Berlin-based filmmakers. They will live in Paris and benefit from a tailor-made program designed to help them write their first or second feature film and they will also be in Cannes from May 13-24, 2025. Anastasia Veber is a Berlin-based director and writer. Her graduation short film, Trap, won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlinale in 2022 and has been featured at numerous international film festivals. She holds a film directing degree from Saint Petersburg School of New Cinema and a screenwriting degree from Saint Petersburg University of Film and Television. Rudolf Fitzgerald-Leonard is an Australian director, writer, and producer based in Berlin. He is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts School of Film & Television in Melbourne, where he studied film directing. Rudolf has produced several German short films. His award-winning films have also screened at Toronto International Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival and Locarno Film Festival. | |
| GER/TUR/I 2007
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN
(OT: AUF DER ANDEREN SEITE) In 2004, Fatih Akin won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale with HEAD-ON (GEGEN DIE WAND) and thus attracted lasting international attention. With his next feature film, his fifth, he finally achieved his breakthrough as one of the most exciting contemporary auteur filmmakers in Europe. THE EDGE OF HEAVEN is an enormously complex work, both thematically and formally. Through six characters interwoven on different levels, the film tells a moving and politically striking German-Turkish story. The way in which the complex story is constructed by Akin and editor Andrew Bird, how the time levels change, how the characters’ storylines touch each other, and how emotions and criticism of German and Turkish society are balanced equally, makes the film particularly masterful. At Cannes Film Festival in 2007, the film was awarded the prize for Best Screenplay – a triumph for Fatih Akin that was to be followed by many more. In addition to four German Film Awards and the European Film Award, among others, the film also won four Yeşilçam Awards and the film prize of the Turkish film industry at the time, and was celebrated at the film festivals in Ankara and Antalya. With his films, Fatih Akin has significantly changed the image of German cinema, which has been particularly noticed by the film world abroad: to date, four of his films have premiered in Cannes, two of them in competition. Incidentally, he has thus drawn level with another innovator of German cinema: Margarethe von Trotta.
(Oliver Baumgarten) Director: Fatih Akin Screenplay: Fatih Akin DoP: Rainer Klausmann Editor: Andrew Bird Composer: Shantel Production: Andreas Thiel/Klaus Maeck/Fatih Akin for Corazón International, Ankafilm, Dorje Film, NDR Runtime: 122 Min. Premiere: May 23, 2007 Cast: Baki Davrak, Nursel Köse, Hanna Schygulla, Tunçel Kurtiz, Nurgül Yesilçay, Patrycia Ziolkowska, Lars Rudolph et al. Rights: The Match Factory, Cologne | |
| The focus of the next session for the English-language KINO! FILM SALON online film club on November 17 will be Wolfgang Becker’s historic cult comedy GOOD BYE, LENIN! The film started its international career at the International Competition of the Berlin International Film Festival in 2003 and was also the starting point oh his career for lead actor Daniel Brühl, whose most recent performance in the mini-series BECOMING KARL LAGERFELD (available on Hulu and Disney+) reflects his outstanding talent. Our curator Jim Kolmar's personal comment: "Released in 2003, Wolfgang Becker’s GOOD BYE, LENIN! ushered in an exciting era for German cinema. Set in 1990, the story centres around Alex, a young man caring for his mother as she emerges from a long coma induced by a heart attack. However, the East Germany that she knew no longer exists, and Alex must protect her from another attack by maintaining the illusion that the Wall is still standing, and state Communism is alive and well. It’s an absurd, ingenious story told with great pathos and humour, with an endearingly frazzled lead performance by Daniel Brühl in his breakthrough role. GOOD BYE, LENIN! is a canny examination of every day politics at the tail end of the Cold War, but perhaps more importantly a touching depiction of family, friendship, and the enduring pursuit of support and community at a time when it’s most needed. It’s a gem, and deserves its reputation as one of the most iconic international films of the early 21st century." RSVP: https://bit.ly/kinofilmsalongoodbyelenin Date and time: Sunday, November 17 at 11:00am – 12:00pm PT, 2:00pm – 3:00pm ET, 8:00pm – 9:00pm CET.
Hosted by Jim Kolmar Trailer GOOD BYE, LENIN! here. More films with Daniel Brühl are available here. KINO! FILM SALON is a production of Telescope Film, in collaboration with the German Film Office | |
| Episode 69 - November 21, 2024: Favorite antihero? Artemis Fowl or Calvin (of Calvin & Hobbes) - filmmaker, animator and illustrator Raman Djafari can’t quite decide. We had an extremely fun talk with the multi-hyphenate in our latest ShortTake episode: about the weirdly great taste of multivitamin tablets, his favorite food – Ghormeh Sabzi, a terrific Toy-Story-memory, and we even had ourselves a wonderful Brit Marling and +TheOA appreciation minute. You can find all episodes on our website, and wherever podcasts are available.
SHORT TAKE on Instagram! | |
| Episode 4 - November 19, 2024: Producer and film expert Alfred Holighaus curated the 70 years of German Films edition program. We talked to him about the selection, the great eras of the 1960s and 1990s, his favorite Fassbinder film and the ONE German film he would recommend you to watch if you could only watch one. You can find all the episodes on our website and wherever podcasts are available. DEEP DIVE GENRE on Instagram! | |
| German Films Umbrella Booth at the American Film Market
German Films will once again be present at the last major film market of the year. The American Film Market (November 1-5, 2024) will take place as a face-to-face event at the Palm Casino Resort in Las Vegas for the first time. Seven German world sales companies are on board in the hotel suites on the 10th floor, welcoming international buyers and distributors from all around the world: Beta Cinema (Suite 227), Epsilon (Suite 225), Kinostar (Suite 219), Media Luna new film (Suite 224), Picture Tree International (Suite 226), The Playmaker Munich (Suite 223), Sola Media (Suite 221) German Short Films 2024 – Update Online Catalogue
With the third and final update for 2024, 32 new shorts have just been added to the Online Short Film Catalogue. The members of the AG Kurzfilm – German Short Film Association and a jury have selected a broad spectrum of short films - fiction films, animated films, experimental films and documentaries as well as various hybrid forms. The update includes films that have premiered since May at festivals such as Oberhausen, Cannes, Annecy, Toronto, Locarno, and many more. Everyone interested can search for German short films in the online catalogue using a wide range of functions, keywords, themes, categories, etc. International film professionals can also screen the films online after registering. Short documentaries and animations from the update were registered on DOK Leipzig’s Market Library as well. The 2024 catalogue selection is now complete, with a total of 88 short films added this year. More than 1,100 short films produced since 2004 are now available for viewing. The selection process is currently underway for the films of the next update which will go online in February 2025 in time for the festivals of Clermont-Ferrand and Berlin. Next Generation Short Tiger 2025 – Call for Entries
Submissions are open for next year’s 15th edition of NEXT GENERATION SHORT TIGER and the SHORT TIGER AWARD: German films schools can submit student productions up to 15 minutes to German Films. German short films up to 7 minutes directed by non-student filmmakers can also be submitted for the SHORT TIGER AWARD to the AG Kurzfilm. Non-student productions up to 15 minutes can be submitted to the AG Kurzfilm for NEXT GENERATION SHORT TIGER, if the filmmaker is based in Germany, and either no older than 40 years or it is their first film after graduation, and if the film has been selected for the AG Kurzfilm’s online catalogue GERMAN SHORT FILMS 2024. The detailed call for submissions is available here, the deadline is November 30, 2024. SCHLiNGEL on tour: Next stop KINEKO Filmfestival in Tokyo
The children's and youth festival SCHLiNGEL takes German films to other international film festivals abroad. The next stop is the KINEKO Film Festival in Tokyo. MORGEN IRGENDWO AM MEER will celebrate its Asian premiere there. Director Patrick Büchting will present the film on location. GREETINGS FROM MARS by Sarah Winkenstette will also be screened in Japan. Calls for Submission - EURODOC: The comprehensive training initiatives for creative documentary film producers throughout Europe and beyond have opened their call for the EURODOC 2025 annual training. An information session in English can be found here, and further information here. Deadline is November 24, 2024.
- DOK.fest München: Submissions for the 40th DOK.fest München (May 7-18, 2025 @cinemas, May 12-25, 2025 @home) are open. There are five different categories with deadlines on December 16 and February 3. All the information about calls for entries and regulations can be found here.
- Hot Docs: The 32nd annual Hot Docs Festival will take place in Toronto from April 24 to May 4, 2025. Submissions are now open. Deadline is December 12 and January. All the information and regulations can be found here.
- DocsBarcelona: The Barcelona International Documentary Film Festival has opened the call to submmit documentary films for the 28th edition, to be held from May 8 to 18, 2025. Early Bird deadline is November 1, 2024, Regular Entry deadline is November 15, 2024. Rules and regulations can be found here, submissions here.
Visions du Réel: The call for non-fiction films and projects for the 56th edition of Visions du Réel (April 4–13, 2025) is now open. The festival is looking for films for the official selection and for projects for VdR–Industry activities. The films in competition will be screened as world, international or European premieres. Early deadline November 4, 2024; final deadline December 13, 2024; deadline VdR–Development Lab October 25, 2024. More information and submissions can be found here.
| |
| German productions and co-productions at Chicago, Mumbai, Uppsala, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Montclair, Middleburg, Denver, Antalya, Philadelphia, Leeds, Cambridge, Winterthur, Cork, Stockholm, Lissabon, IDFA Amsterdam, New York City, Florence and Bilbao. | |
| Awards for German productions and co-productions at Ottawa, Tirana, Sitges, Warsaw, Chicago, Uppsala and Woodstock. | |
| International releases of German films in November 2024 supported by the German Films Distribution Support program: DER VIERER in Switzerland (Distributor: DCM Film Distribution Switzerland, World Sales: Leonine Licensing, Theatrical Release: November 28, 2024, Grant: 9,000 €)
DIRECT ACTION in France (Distributor: Shellac, World Sales: Shellac, Theatrical Release: November 20, 2024, Grant: 4,000 €)
EMPTY NETS in North Macedonia (Distributor: KT Film & Media, World Sales: Pluto Film, Theatrical Release: November 21, 2024, Grant: 3,000 €)
FÜHRER AND SEDUCER in Norway (Distributor: Star Media Entertainment, World Sales: Beta Cinema, Theatrical Release: November 29, 2024, Grant: 5,000 €)
GONDOLA in Spain (Distributor: Reverso Films, World Sales: Coccinelle Film Sales, Theatrical Release: November 22, 2024, Grant: 3,000 €)
RIEFENSTAHL in Switzerland and Lichtenstein (Distributor: DCM Film Distribution Switzerland, World Sales: Beta Cinema, Theatrical Release: November 21, 2024, Grant: 9,000 €)
TEACHES OF PEACHES in the Ukraine (Distributor: LLC KISFF Films, World Sales: Magnetfilm, Theatrical Release: November 27, 2024, Grant: 2,300 €)
THE CHAOS SISTERS FEAT. PENGUIN PAUL in Lithuania (Distributor: Unlimited Media, World Sales: The Playmaker Munich, Theatrical Release: November 1, 2024, Grant: 4,000 €)
THE UNIVERSAL THEORY in Hungary (Distributor: ADS Service, World Sales: Charades, Theatrical Release: November 14, 2024, Grant: 5,500 €)
WEEKENDREBELS in Japan (Distributor: SDP, World Sales: Picture Tree International, Theatrical Release: November 15, 2024, Grant: 11,000 €)
WOODWALKERS in Hungary (Distributor: Prorom Entertainment, World Sales: Studiocanal, Theatrical Release: November 21, 2024, Grant: 13,000 €)
WOW! MESSAGE FROM OUTER SPACE in Poland (Distributor: Vivarto, World Sales: The Playmaker Munich, Theatrical Release: November 8, 2024, Grant: 8,000 €) Please note: Correct at time of going to press. Changes may occur at any time. | |
| Contact:
Angela Sonntag (Head of Press & Public Relations) | |
| German Films Service + Marketing GmbH
Herzog-Wilhelm-Straße 16
80331 München/Deutschland Tel +49-89-59 97 87-0
Fax +49-89-59 97 87-30 | |
| |
|
