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December 2021

WE ARE MOURNING THE LOSS OF JULIA BASLER-HESSE

Julia Basler-Hesse

The German Films team is mourning the passing of its former employee Julia Basler-Hesse, who died unexpectedly in Munich on December 8, 2021. She was responsible for the Festivals of German Films in Rome, London, Paris and Madrid as a project manager from 1999 - 2005 and then took over the area of documentaries until 2017. We remember her fondly as a colleague who impressed us with her empathetic aura, her authoritative and calm manner and her passionate commitment - and by her integrity. She had a particularly weak spot for documentaries - and many in the film industry will have fond memories of her competent consultations which often also required a lot of patience. A high degree of empathy and open-mindedness characterised her work and her dealings with colleagues - combined with a dash of humour.

Dear Julia - we’ll miss you dearly and hope you are now in a peaceful place. Our thoughts are also with Your family who meant so much to you.

GERMAN CINEMA ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE - A LOOK BACK AT 2021

While the film industry wasn’t the only sector to be turned upside down by the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, 2021 also saw our living conditions passing through a rollercoaster ride.  Although the exceptional circumstances will probably continue, a slightly positive trend had prevailed in the industry this year. Some events, festivals, markets, productions and cinema releases may have still been affected by postponements, cancellations or hybrid workarounds - but many dates in the festival calendar were able to take place again in physical form, and audiences slowly began returning to the world's cinemas. One can sense a slight sigh of relief, if only because we are all increasingly getting to know how to cope with the virus.

Our brief review of 2021 focuses on this year's highlights of German filmmaking that attracted international attention.

More about the international performance of film and series during 2021...

SHORT TAKE - THE GERMAN FILMS PODCAST: NEW EPISODE

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Actor Julius Nitschkoff was the last podcast guest we had the pleasure of welcoming this year. In his latest film TOUBAB, he does everything he can to prevent his best friend from being deported. Whoever has any problems turning their good intentions into action can take an example from the young acting talent's philosophy of life and they should definitely tune in.

More about the new SHORT TAKE episode...

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

German Films wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We hope you will also want to continue following us and our activities in 2022.

NEWS BITES


CEE Animation Forum 2022: Open Call
CEE Animation Forum is one of the top events when it comes to pitching, financing and co-production in Central and Eastern Europe. Applicants can submit their animation projects in five categories -  feature films, series/TV specials, short films, student films and XR projects - for the 10th edition. The CEE Animation Forum seeks to promote the international potential of the submitted projects, their visibility and their access to a wider European market. The anniversary event will take place from May 10-12 in Liberec, Czech Republic, in a hybrid format.

The deadline for submissions is January 16, 2022.

More information is available here: https://ceeanimation.eu/forum/2022-cee-animation-forum/call/

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS TO TIFF WRITERS STUDIO 2022
International screenwriters still have until January 3, 2022 to apply to participate in the Toronto International Film Festival's Writers' Studio programme. The lab and mentoring programme will take place from March 21-25, 2022. Writers can apply with their current feature-length film project if they have already written at least one feature film or TV series.

For detailed information about the programme and how to apply, please visit https://tiff.net/industry-writers-studio

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EFP PROGRAMME EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN IN FILM IN SYDNEY
After five months of postponement, the Sydney Film Festival was finally able to show its line-up in the cinemas from November 3 to 14. This included EFP’s EUROPE! Voices of Women in Film programme which was also available online along with other selected titles from the festival. Taken together, the programme's physical and digital screenings were a complete success, posting over 4,400 admissions in spite of the necessary pandemic restrictions in the cinemas such as mandatory vaccination. This year's selection also featured the German director Eline Gehring with her film NICO. The filmmakers were able to take part in various virtual events, press activities and networking events.

More information about European Film Promotion’s initiative EUROPE! Voices of Women in Film is available here: https://www.efp-online.com/en/project_talent_promotion/women_directors_in_sydney.php.

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PAULINA LORENZ AND FARAZ SHARIAT RECEIVE MBB FELLOWSHIP
The filmmakers Paulina Lorenz and Faraz Shariat have been awarded the Villa Aurora Fellowship, funded by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, for a three-month stay at the artist residency in Los Angeles. "In 2020, Paulina Lorenz and Faraz Shariat and their collective "Jünglinge" surprised everyone with the playful queer, post-migrant coming-of-age drama NO HARD FEELINGS, and set fresh impulses in the German film landscape," the jury said. At Villa Aurora, the two will now have time to work on developing their second feature film project IMPERIAL PALACE which is set in the horror genre.

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LES ARCS: TALENT VILLAGE AWARD FOR MAARIAGE BY ABDUCTION
The Les Arcs Industry Village is held each year as part of the Les Arcs Film Festival: a three-day event combining the Co-Production Village, Talent Village and Music Village. The project MARRIAGE BY ABDUCTION by the German participant Sophia Mocorrea won an award at this year's Talent Village programme. Mocorrea, who is studying at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, won against competition from seven other first-time projects currently in development. Among other things, the jury praised the cinematic quality and the ability to address the implication of cross-cultural relationships. The hunt is now on to find the right production company to produce MARRIAGE BY ABDUCTION.

More about the Talent Village Award and the winning project: https://lesarcs-filmfest.com/en/industry/talent-village

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EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS: FIVE PRIZES FOR GERMAN CO-PRODUCTIONS
The 34th European Film Awards were presented in Berlin on December 11. Two co-productions with German participation won several awards: Jasmila Žbanić's drama QUO VADIS, AIDA? was named Best European Film and Best Director by the jury. Lead actress Jasna Đuričić received the award for Best Actress. GREAT FREEDOM by Sebastian Meise, a co-production between Germany and Austria, was also one of the big winners of the evening. Both the award for Best Cinematography and the award for Best Score went to the drama starring Franz Rogowski.

More information about the winners is available here: https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/en_EN/winner-current

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SOUTH AMERICA UPDATE
The film WHAT DO WE SEE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SKY? by Alexandre Koberidze won the special jury prize "Premio Astor Pianola" in the International Competition of the 36th Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata in November. A film with German participation also appeared in the hybrid market of Ventana Sur in Buenos Aires (29.11. to 04.12.2021). The event is organised annually by Cannes’ Marché du Film and Argentina's national film association INCAA. This year’s event presented more than 50 projects in sections dedicated to works-in-progress, pitching sessions and animation. The project with German participation CONDENADITOS (CURSED CHILDREN) by director Matisse González and producers Yashira Jordán (Celeste Estudio) and Stefan Michel (Studio Seufz) was selected for the "Pitch Mentoring Program for Female Directors" in the Feature Film category. The filmmakers presented their projects after training sessions with international experts focusing on production, screenplay and pitching projects.

More information about the Ventana Sur programme for animation projects is available at: https://ventana-sur.com/en/animation/#1635895171598-f4be459e-cc12

FESTIVALS


German films and co-productions at Les ArcsGuanajuatoBogotáPalm SpringsSundance and Slamdance.

AWARDS


Awards for German films and co-productions at Torino and Florence.

INTERNATIONAL RELEASES IN JANUARY


I WAS AT HOME, BUT ... in France (Distributor: Shellac Films, World Sales: Deutsche Kinemathek, Theatrical Release: 05 January 2022)
THE COLLINI CASE in France (Distributor: ARP, World Sales: Global Screen, Theatrical Release: 05 January 2022)
THE LAST EXECUTION in Spain (Distributor: Adso International Management, World Sales: Global Screen, Theatrical Release: 05 January 2022)
NEXT DOOR in Taiwan (Distributor: Benchmark Films, World Sales: Beta Cinema, Theatrical Release: 07 January 2022)
GERMAN LESSON in France (Distributor: Wildbunch, World Sales: The Playmaker Munich, Theatrical Release: 12 January 2022)
MONSTER FAMILY 2 in Czech Republic (Distributor: AQS, World Sales: United Entertainment, Theatrical Release: 13 January 2022)
MAYA THE BEE 3: THE GOLDEN ORB in Bosnia + Herzegovina (Distributor: Blitz F.V.D., World Sales: Studio 100, Theatrical Release: 13 January 2022)
MAYA THE BEE 3: THE GOLDEN ORB in Croatia (Distributor: Blitz d.o.o., World Sales: Studio 100, Theatrical Release: 13 January 2022)
THE AUDITION in Brasil (Distributor: CSF Distribuidora & Streaming, World Sales: Les Films du Losagne, Theatrical Release: 13 January 2022)
DEAR FUTURE CHILDREN in Austria (Distributor: Stadtkino Filmverleih, World Sales: Magnetfilm, Theatrical Release: 14 January 2022)
FABIAN: GOING TO THE DOGS in Denmark (Distributor: Another World Entertainment, World Sales: Les Films du Losagne, Theatrical Release: 20 January 2022)
MAYA THE BEE 3: THE GOLDEN ORB in Serbia (Distributor: Blitz Film & Video Distribucija, World Sales: Studio 100, Theatrical Release: 20 January 2022)
FABIAN: GOING TO THE DOGS in Brasil (Distributor: Zeta Films, World Sales: Les Films du Losagne, Theatrical Release: 27 January 2022)
LATTE IGEL AND THE MAGIC WATERSTONE in Portugal (Distributor: Outsider Films, World Sales: Sola Media, Theatrical Release: 27 January 2022)
MONSTER FAMILY 2 in Bosnia + Herzegovina (Distributor: Blitz F.V.D., World Sales: United Entertainment, Theatrical Release: 27 January 2022)
MONSTER FAMILY 2 in Croatia (Distributor: Blitz d.o.o., World Sales: United Entertainment, Theatrical Release: 27 January 2022)

Status: Newsletter publication date. Please be aware that all release dates are subject to change.



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