| The mailing of the newsletter’s German version will be discontinued as from April 2022. However, the English version will continue to appear each month. | |
| In 2022, 462 German films in 77countries generated a total box office of 107 million Euros and were seen by more than 14.6 million cinema-goers around the globe.
Compared to 2021, this indicates a small reduction in box office as well as in audience numbers but still represents a better box office result than in the last pre-pandemic year of 2019.
Detailed analysis of German films abroad in 2022 is available in our latest Facts & Figures report.
For further information, please contact Andrea Schiefer. | |
| Despite the ongoing pandemic, the 2022 Berlinale was able to take place as a physical event with a strict hygiene and security concept and the organisers were delighted with the lively interest shown by the general public and film industry professionals. The pandemic meant that there could only be a maximum 50% seating capacity in the cinemas. This stipulation was enthusiastically accepted and a total of 156,000 tickets were sold. The Berlinale was also back in the spotlight as a media event. Although there were numerous international travel restrictions, around 1,400 journalists from 65 countries came to Berlin to report on the festival. While the festival could take place in-person, the European Film Market (EFM), the Berlinale Co-Production Market, Berlinale Talents and the WCF Day of the World Cinema Fund were primarily realised as online formats. This year also saw German Films presenting the German highlights in a one-hour showreel. This year’s Competition featured the German films AEIOU - A QUICK ALPHABET OF LOVE by Nicolette Krebitz and RABIYE KURNAZ VS. GEORGE W. BUSH by Andreas Dresen, which earned Silver Bears for Meltem Kaptan in the "Best Leading Performance" category and Laila Stieler for "Best Screenplay",
Other German productions and co-productions could be seen in ENCOUNTERS, BERLINALE SPECIAL GALA, BERLINALE SPECIAL, BERLINALE SHORTS, PANORAMA, GENERATION KPLUS, GENERATION 14+, FORUM, FORUM SPECIAL, FORUM EXPANDED, FORUM EXPANDED EXHIBITION, FORUM EXPANDED SCREENING AND PERFORMANCE, RETROSPECTIVE, BERLINALE CLASSICS & HOMAGE, BERLINALE CO-PRODUCTION MARKET, BERLINALE DIRECTORS, CO-PRO SERIES and, of course, in the PERSPEKTIVE DEUTSCHES KINO sidebar.
„The EFM has again created clear, vital momentum for the trade in film and content at its traditional date at the beginning of the film year,” EFM Director Dennis Ruh said in his summing up of this year’s edition. “In the wake of the easing and lifting of restrictive measures already observed within Europe and other parts of the world, the incentive to acquire new films and content is once again being felt more strongly, even if the trading in rights still had to take place largely in the virtual space again this year. We look forward to meeting our market participants in Berlin again next year.”
German Films sent five producers as visitors to the Berlinale Co-Production Market where they were successful in making contacts to advance their respective projects: Britta Strampe (Bandenfilm), Kristof Gerega (Schuldenberg Films), Alexandra Krampe (Julex Film), Felix Klett (Domar Film) und Benjamin Martins (Herbsthund Filme).
The 25th edition of the EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS saw a jury of industry experts selecting ten of the most gifted young European acting talents who were presented to the industry during the Berlinale. The event culminated in the awards ceremony on 14 February when each of the talents was presented with the EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS Award. This year's Shooting Star from Germany was Emilio Sakraya. Emilio has starred in such films and series as ELECTRO GHETTO, 4 BLOCKS, COLD FEET, WARRIOR NUN, SAVING THE WORLD WE KNOW, TRIBES OF EUROPA and ONE NIGHT OFF, and plays the lead role of the gangster rapper Xatar in Fatih Akin's new film RHEINGOLD.
All information about the German films at the 2022 Berlinale 2022 can be accessed here.
The showreel with the German line-up can be found here. | |
| Our FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS campaign is presenting another seven up-and-coming personalities in the German film industry to the international film world during 2022. This is the second year in a row that German Films is focusing on the entire spectrum of film professions and presenting talents from different disciplines. Here are the Faces of 2022: - SARAH NOA BOZENHARDT, writer and director
- SARA FAZILAT, actress, producer and writer
- JERRY HOFFMANN, director and actor
- JULIA KOVALENKO, editor
- MATTHIAS LUTHARDT, director and writer
- ZAMARIN WAHDAT, cinematographer and director
- ANNE ZANDER, actress
This year's FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS campaign kicked off in early February with a virtual panel entitled FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS 2022: BREAKING BARRIERS, again in cooperation with the trade publication Deadline. The panel was moderated again by the journalist Diana Lodderhose for Deadline, in a discussion with Sara Fazilat, Jerry Hoffmann, Zamarin Wahdat and Anne Zander about the ever-changing film and television landscape as far as diversity and equality are concerned. As part of the Berlinale, The Faces spoke with the journalist Emma Jones about their beginnings, experiences and artistic approaches in the film industry at a panel held in-person in Berlin during the Berlinale.
The seven talents are not only featured on the cover of the current issue of the German Films Quarterly magazine, but also have their work showcased inside. The current GFQ issue can be read online for free here. More news about our FACE TO FACE Talents can be found on German Films’ social media channels.
You can find everything about this year's FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS - THE FILMMAKERS campaign here. The campaign film can be seen here. | |
| 2022 FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS ambassadors Sara Fazilat, Jerry Hoffmann and Matthias Luthardt as well as the former 2020 ambassador and screenwriter Jana Burbach will be attending SERIES MANIA Forum to speak about their experience with series at the FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMMAKERS: SERIOUS ABOUT SERIES panel on Tuesday, March 22 at 10 a.m.: What is the state of the German series landscape today, and what are current trends? Is there still a boundary between the cinematographic art and the art of series? How do the two genres hybridize and feed off each other? How do the panelists put their cinematographic experience at the service of the series? How does the question of representation and diversity inspire their work today?
German Films will also be present in Lille with a booth in the Delegate’s Hall on the 1st floor. Come and visit us! | |
| At the 1st sitting of 2022, the German Films Distribution Support awards committee decided to support 21 foreign theatrical releases of German films. In total, 201,000 Euros were allocated. BAYALA in Columbia and Ecuador (Distributor: Delta Films, World Sales: Global Screen, Theatrical Release: 24 March 2022, Grant: 10,000€)
BEYOND THE VISIBLE in Japan (Distributor: Trenova, World Sales: Mindjazz Pictures, Theatrical Release: 09 April 2022, Grant: 9,000€)
BLISS in Czech Republic (Distributor: Mezipatra, World Sales: Reel Suspects, Theatrical Release: 24 February 2022, Grant: 2,000€)
CRESCENDO in France (Distributor: Bodega Films, World Sales: Global Screen, Theatrical Release: 04 May 2022, Grant: 10,000€)
FABIAN: GOING TO THE DOGS in Norway (Distributor: Another World Entertainment, World Sales: Les Films du Losange, Theatrical Release: 18 March 2022, Grant: 4,000€)
GREAT FREEDOM in Poland (Distributor: Tongariro Releasing, World Sales: The Match Factory, Theatrical Release: 25 March 2022, Grant: 5,000€)
I’M YOUR MAN in Taiwan (Distributor: Swallow Wings, World Sales: Beta Cinema, Theatrical Release: 25 February 2022, Grant: 9,500€)
LATTE AND THE MAGIC WATERSTONE in Israel (Distributor: Five Stars Distribution, World Sales: Sola Media, Theatrical Release: 07 April 2022, Grant: 10,000€)
MOONBOUND in Hungary (Distributor: ADS Service, World Sales: Sola Media, Theatrical Release: 17 March 2022, Grant: 5,500€)
NEXT DOOR in Poland (Distributor: Aurora Films, World Sales: Beta Cinema, Theatrical Release: 04 March 2022, Grant: 6,500€)
NO HARD FEELINGS in France (Distributor: Sonata Films Distribution, World Sales: m-appeal, Theatrical Release: 16 February 2022, Grant: 7,000€)
RABBIT ACADEMY – MISSION EGGPOSSIBLE in France (Distributor: KMBO, World Sales: Sola Media, Theatrical Release: 13 April 2022, Loan: 40,000€)
RABBIT ACADEMY – MISSION EGGPOSSIBLE in Hungary (Distributor: ADS Service, World Sales: Sola Media, Theatrical Release: 14 April 2022, Grant: 6,000€)
THE AUDITION in Italy (Distributor: P.F.A. Films, World Sales: Les Films du Losange, Theatrical Release: 25 March 2022, Grant: 10,000€)
THE CONFERENCE in Israel (Distributor: Red Cape Distribution, World Sales: Global Screen, Theatrical Release: 12 May 2022, Loan: 25,000€)
THE OGGLIES – WELCOME TO SMELLIVILLE in The Netherlands (Distributor: Just Entertainment, World Sales: The Playmaker Munich, Theatrical Release: 10 March 2022, Loan: 25,000€)
THE ROYAL GAME in Spain (Distributor: Alfa Pictures, World Sales: Studiocanal, Theatrical Release: 11 February 2022, Grant: 8,000€)
WHAT DO WE SEE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SKY? in Estonia (Distributor: A-One Films Estonia, World Sales: Cercamon, Theatrical Release: 25 March 2022, Grant: 1,500€)
WHAT DO WE SEE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SKY? in Latvia (Distributor: A-One Films Latvia, World Sales: Cercamon, Theatrical Release: 22 March 2022, Grant: 1,500€)
WHAT DO WE SEE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SKY? in Lithuania (Distributor: A-One Films Baltic, World Sales: Cercamon, Theatrical Release: 03 June 2022, Grant: 2,000€)
WOOD AND WATER in the USA (Distributor: KimStim, World Sales: SAS Trance Films, Theatrical Release: 24 March 2022, Grant: 3,500€)
Please be aware that all release dates are subject to change.
Applications for the next sitting of the awards committee can be submitted up until 30 March 2022.
The Distribution Support funding program was launched in 2005 and supports the theatrical release of German films abroad. Subsidies are awarded for additional measures over and above the release campaign which had already been planned by the foreign distributors. The support up to a maximum of 50,000 Euros is allocated in the form of a conditionally repayable loan. Funding of up to 10,000 Euros can also be allocated as a grant.
The guidelines and the application form for Distribution Support can be downloaded here. | |
| Off to the flicks! German Films is organising the second edition of the Festival del Cinema Tedesco in the Italian capital from 24 to 27 March in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut and the German Embassy in Rome. This year will see the Cinema Quattro Fontane serving as the event’s host and location after last year's festival had been mainly an open-air event in the garden of the Casa del Cinema due to the coronavirus pandemic. The festival will open with TOUBAB in the presence of the writer-director Florian Dietrich and lead actor Farba Dieng: to prevent an imminent deportation at the last second, two small-time gangsters are willing to do anything.
List of films at the FESTIVAL OF GERMAN FILMS in Rome:
TOUBAB by Florian Dietrich (opening film)
LIFEGUARD OFF DUTY by Marcus H. Rosenmüller
THE GIRL WITH THE GOLDEN HANDS by Katharina Maria Schubert
I WAS I AM I WILL BE by İlker Çatak
ITALO DISCO. THE SPARKLING SOUND OF THE 80S. by Alessandro Melazzini
DEAR THOMAS by Andreas Kleinert
RELATIVITY by Mariko Minoguchi
A detailed report about the festival will follow in the next Newsletter. | |
| The 44th International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand (France) was held again in-person from 28 January to 5 February 2022 with an audience and many international guests after last year’s edition went completely online. The German-French cooperation programme SOIRÉE ALLEMANDE celebrated its premiere and six new shorts will travel the world with the programme SHORT EXPORT. Six German films were shown in the International Competition and Lab Competition, and another ten productions were in the special programmes. STEAKHOUSE by Špela Čadež (SI/DE/FR, Fabian&Fred) received a Special Mention from the International Jury. With its affiliated film market and extensive industry activities, Clermont-Ferrand is the world's most important festival specialising in short films. AG Kurzfilm joined forces with German Films to organise a stand at the film market where it iprovided information about the new online catalogue and presented the traditional market screening MATINÉE ALLEMANDE with eight new German shorts.
The 17th edition of the German-French cooperation programme SOIRÉE ALLEMANDE celebrated its premiere on 31 January. Six new films representing the entire spectrum of German short filmmaking were selected from the more than 400 German entries to the festival: the documentaries ANNA by Julia Roesler and THE UNICORN IN SNOWPANTS SUDDENLY RAN OFF by Philipp Schaeffer, the animated film JEIJAY by Maren Wiese and Petra Stipetić, the experimental documentaries LOWER AMBITIONS by Irem Schwarz and SIRENS by Ilaria Di Carlo as well as the feature film WHY DOES HELEN KOCH COMMIT SERIOUS VEHICLE THEFT? by Moritz Geiser. The directors Ilaria Di Carlo, Moritz Geiser and Philipp Schaeffer attended the premiere of the programme and then took part in a Q&A with Anne Gaschütz (Locarno Festival, Filmfest Dresden). The short film programme is a collaboration between AG Kurzfilm, German Films, the International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand, the Goethe-Institute Lyon and the Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg and will go on tour as SHORT EXPORT. It will not only have German, French and English subtitles since the programme can also be booked for the first time this year by the Goethe-Institutes and their partners around the globe with Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian subtitles.
An overview of all German films in Clermont-Ferrand here. | |
| The increasing shift of film market offerings into the virtual space provides both the occasion and opportunity for implementing a new concept for the AG Kurzfilm’s annual catalogue which has been published every January since 2004 with support from German Films and supplemented by DVD screeners. From 2022, the "German Short Films" catalogue will only be published online and updated three times a year: at the beginning of the year (Clermont-Ferrand/Berlin), in the spring (Cannes/Annecy) and in the autumn (Leipzig/Torino). All of the catalogue films can be viewed online. The first catalogue update for 2022 with a total of 45 new shorts was then put online to coincide with the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival. The members of the AG Kurzfilm (Short Film Working Group) and a jury have selected a broad spectrum of short films for this first compilation - fiction films, animated films, experimental films and documentaries as well as various hybrid forms. The new catalogue concept enables the presentation of short films that have just had their festival premiere or are about to do so.
All those 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 screen view the films online after registering. A total of 900 short films produced since 2004 are now available for viewing. The selection process is currently underway for the new films for the next update which will go online in mid-May around the time of the Festival de Cannes. | |
| The end of January saw the release of the first episode of the new SCREEN SLATE PODCAST about the New York film scene with sponsorship from the German Films Office.
The episodes appear at fortnightly intervals with the Screen Slate editor Jon Dieringer engaging in conversation with filmmakers, critics, and artists, including Caroline Golum, John Klacsmann, Cosmo Bjorkenheim und C. Spencer Yeh, about the New York film scene and beyond.
The podcast is now available on iTunes, Spotify, Google, Overcast, Amazon, Stitcher, iHeartRadio and everywhere else where podcasts are on offer. | |
| GERMAN PROJECT "ACROSS THE WATERS" WINS EUROPEAN SHORT FILM PITCH
Organised by NISI MASA - Network of New European Cinema, the European Short Film Pitch has been supporting the development of short film projects, young talents and European co-productions since 2007. Twelve projects in development and four works-in-progress were selected for the 15th edition in 2021/2022, . After two online training sessions, the projects were presented in a hybrid event from 7 - 11 February to over 100 international industry professionals at the Travelling Film Festival in Rennes (France) as well as in online one-to-one meetings. The German-Chinese project ACROSS THE WATERS was presented by Viv Li (director) and Alexander Sussmann (producer) and awarded the main prize of 3,000 Euros by the jury. More information about ACROSS THE WATERS here.
ANIMATION GERMANY
The CARTOON MOVIE pitching & co-production forum for animated feature films is being held in Bordeaux from 8 to 10 March. A cash prize of 20,000 Euros, the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award was created by Eurimages and Cartoon to encourage international co-productions. Two German co-productions are among the eight nominees: ARK AT 8 (Zooper Film in co-production with Now Films, Parka Pictures and Hydralab) and FLOW (Dream Well in co-production with Sacrebleu Productions and Ciné-Litté Productions).
FIRST LOOK – FOCUS ON GERMANY IN LOCARNO
The LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL will take place from 3 to 13 August, 2022. Locarno Pro’s First Look initiative is dedicated to films in post-production and will be looking this year at German films in the last stage of their production.
For more than a decade, First Look has been the post-production springboard for new films and proven to be one of the most important final steps in the life before they enter the marketplace of international film festivals. Through its partnership with German Films, First Look will select six titles, giving their producers an opportunity to present these projects to the world of industry professionals during the LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL from 5 to 7 August, 2022.
Producers can apply with their projects if a rough cut of at least 60 minutes is available, if there is no international sales agent attached to the project, and if the film’s main production company is based in Germany and the film has more than 50% German financing. The deadline for submitting applications is 29 May, 2022. | |
| German productions and co-productions in Sydney, Clermont-Ferrand, Dublin, Glasgow, SXSW in
Austin, Miami, Manchester, Berlin, Santa Barbara, Tampere, Glasgow as well as Saguenay and Ann Arbor. | |
| Prizes for German productions and co-productions in Tallinn, Berlin snd Dublin. | |
| International releases of German films in March and April 2022 supported by the German Films Distribution Support program. NEXT DOOR in Poland (Distributor: Aurora Films, World Sales: Beta Cinema, Theatrical Release: 04 March 2022)
FABIAN: GOING TO THE DOGS in Brazil (Distributor: Zeta Films, World Sales: Les Films du Losange, Theatrical Release: 10 March 2022)
THE OGGLIES – WELCOME TO SMELLIVILLE in The Netherlands (Distributor: Just Entertainment, World Sales: The Playmaker Munich, Theatrical Release: 10 March 2022)
MOONBOUND in Hungary (Distributor: ADS Service, World Sales: Sola Media, Theatrical Release: 17 March 2022)
THE AUDITION in Brazil (Distributor: CSF Distribuidora & Streaming, World Sales: Les Films du Losange, Theatrical Release: 17 March 2022)
FABIAN: GOING TO THE DOGS in Norway (Distributor: Another World Entertainment, World Sales: Les Films du Losange, Theatrical Release: 18 March 2022)
WHAT DO WE SEE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SKY? in Latvia (Distributor: A-One Films Latvia, World Sales: Cercamon, Theatrical Release: 22 March 2022)
BAYALA in Columbia and Ecuador (Distributor: Delta Films, World Sales: Global Screen, Theatrical Release: 24 March 2022)
MONSTER FAMILY 2 – NOBODY’S PERFECT in Czech Republic (Distributor: AQS, World Sales: United Entertainment, Theatrical Release: 24 March 2022)
WOOD AND WATER in the USA (Distributor: KimStim, World Sales: SAS Trance Films, Theatrical Release: 24 March 2022)
GREAT FREEDOM in Poland (Distributor: Tongariro Releasing, World Sales: The Match Factory, Theatrical Release: 25 March 2022)
THE AUDITION in Italy (Distributor: P.F.A. Films, World Sales: Les Films du Losange, Theatrical Release: 25 March 2022)
WHAT DO WE SEE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SKY? in Estonia (Distributor: A-One Films Estonia, World Sales: Cercamon, Theatrical Release: 25 March 2022)
LATTE AND THE MAGIC WATERSTONE in Israel (Distributor: Five Stars Distribution, World Sales: Sola Media, Theatrical Release: 07 April 2022)
THE CONFERENCE in the Netherlands (Distributor: Arti Film, World Sales: Global Screen, Theatrical Release: 07 April 2022)
BEYOND THE VISIBLE in Japan (Distributor: Trenova, World Sales: Mindjazz Pictures, Theatrical Release: 09 April 2022)
RABBIT ACADEMY – MISSION EGGPOSSIBLE in France (Distributor: KMBO, World Sales: Sola Media, Theatrical Release: 13 April 2022)
RABBIT ACADEMY – MISSION EGGPOSSIBLE in Hungary (Distributor: ADS Service, World Sales: Sola Media, Theatrical Release: 14 April 2022)
Status: Newsletter publication date. Please be aware that all release dates are subject to change. | |
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