| In addition, the Festivals of German Films in Tokyo, Rome, Madrid, Buenos Aires, Paris, Beijing and Moscow are in the planning stages. These will again be great platforms in 2021 not only for German cinema and series, but naturally also for German talent.
We regard the promotion of talent as being of especial importance because films and series are created through the work of a large team - which is why we have decided to present a greater variety of film professions in 2021. Our diversity initiative will be another focus being pursued in 2021. Through discussions and conversations with members of the film industry, we want to make our contribution to launching a promising approach for the subject of diversity in the film industry.
We look forward to the film year in 2021 with eager anticipation and lots of creative energy! | |
| "With a wide emotional range, and outsized talent to match, Albrecht Schuch is one of Germany's most exciting rising talents. He brings a clear willingness to push himself to the limit, and beyond, always making excellent use of a formidable set of skills and artistry to bring challenging characters to the screen," the jury said of Schuch's selection as a Shooting Star.
Commenting on his award, Albrecht Schuch said, "I am delighted to be the German EFP Shooting Star for 2021 - the appreciation of one's work expressed by this honour is a nice endorsement. I'm looking forward to meeting the other Shooting Stars virtually, and hopefully in person over the course of the year, and joining these wonderful colleagues in representing the diversity of European acting talent."
The following nine actors were selected together with Albrecht Schuch: Seidi Haarla (Finland), Nicolas Maury (France), Natasa Stork (Hungary), Fionn O'Shea (Ireland), Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė (Lithuania), Martijn Lakemeijer (The Netherlands), Sara Klimoska (North Macedonia), Alba Baptista (Portugal) and Gustav Lindh (Sweden).
The 24th edition of EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS will take place virtually from February 23 - 25, 2021, one week before the 71st Berlinale (March 1 - 5, 2021). The three-day EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS program will open with a special press presentation for the international press, film industry and public on February 24, and provide a unique platform for the Shooting Stars to meet international casting directors, directors and producers in one-to-one meetings and virtual hubs. The Shooting Stars Award Ceremony will take place in the framework of the Berlinale screenings in the summer.
The EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS programme is supported by the Creative Europe - MEDIA programme of the EU as well as by the participating EFP member organizations and other cooperation partners.
More information about the EUROPEAN SHOOTING STARS can be found here. | |
| 15 applications from Russia were subsidised, 13 from Poland and 10 from Taiwan.
8 grants respectively were allocated to distributors in France, Norway and Switzerland.
The committee made funding decisions on 11 occasions in favour of THE COLLINI CASE and UNDINE which were consequently the most supported titles in 2020. SYSTEM CRASHER took second place with eight grants, followed in third place by LATTE AND THE MAGIC WATERSTONE,THE ELFKINS – BAKING A DIFFERENCE, THE AUDITION that each received six grants. LARA was hot on their heels with five grants.
In total, the committee made decisions in 2020 on funding amounting to €1,365,650. Of this, €835,250 was allocated as a grant and €530,400 as a loan.
All information about the Distribution Support Programme is available here.
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| The feature films focus on the protagonists' outsider's perspective and show new and largely unknown sides of Germany. All four documentaries were directed by women. The "Power Games" program compiled by AG-Kurzfilm includes four award-winning shorts.
The selection can be booked at low cost either as a full package or individual screenings (à la carte) for existing film programs of arthouse cinemas, independent festivals, film museums and film schools and is available until the end of July 2021. The plan is to present both physical and virtual screenings in the USA - depending on the current Covid-19 situation. The participating cinemas will receive support from the German Film Office for digital promotion in the social media. Moreover, support will be offered for the organization of Q&A sessions.
The renowned US arthouse distributor Kino Lorber - a pioneer in the field of "virtual cinema distribution" with its Kino Marquee label - is acting as the external service provider with responsibility for the bookings and liaising with the cinemas. Kino Lorber only recently received the "Special Award" presented by the New York Film Critics Circle for establishing Kino Marquee.
KINO Germany NOW! 2021 Discover New Talent is presented by the New York-based German Film Office, an initiative of German Films and the Goethe-Institut.
More information about the films in the program can be found here.
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| Premiers Plan Festival 2021:
The Premiers Plan Festival in Angers (January 25-31, 2021) will pay homage to no less than three filmmakers this year. Christian Petzold will be honored for his cinematic oeuvre along with Chantal Akerman and Federico Fellini.
A selected number of films will be shown in cinemas in Angers as well as the Pays de la Loire region over the coming months from January to August.
20 years after the screening of his first feature film at the festival, and more than seven films later, the time has now come to invite Christian Petzold to Angers.
SERIES MANIA 2021:
The Co-Pro Pitching Sessions are SERIES MANIA FORUM’s oldest and most renowned program, bringing together high-quality projects, key players, decision makers and financiers from all over the world. Each year sees 15 series creators and producers being invited to pitch their series in Lille and on the Series Mania Forum digital platform, following in the footsteps of earlier projects such as The Head (HBO Asia), Freud (Netflix) or No Man's Land (Arte/Hulu).
After the pitching session, the teams behind each project are also given the opportunity to exchange individually with key industry representatives during one-to-one personal and digital meetings. The Co-Pro Pitching Sessions also offers exposure to selected projects on the SERIES MANIA digital platform. Finally, a professional jury selects and awards the best project a grant for € 50,000.
The deadline for producers to submit their series project is up to and including March 5. You can find information about the application procedure, rules and regulations and the link to the call for projects' application portal here.
OSCAR®:
Eight German (co-)productions are among the Oscar submissions of the qualifying animated shorts:
ALTÖTTING by Andreas Hykade (DE/CA/PT, Studio FILM BILDER)
THE BEAUTY by Pascal Schelbli (Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg)
FREEZE FRAME by Soetkin Verstegen (BE/DE/FI, Akademie Schloss Solitude)
FRIENDS by Florian Grolig (smpl films)
HAVE A NICE DOG by Jalal Maghout (DE/SY, Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF)
INSIDE ME by Maria Trigo Teixeira (Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF)
JUST A GUY by Shoko Hara (Studio Seufz)
THE SNAIL AND THE WHALE by Max Lang, Daniel Snaddon (GB/DE, ZDF)
Animation:
THE ELFKINS – BAKING A DIFFERENCE was the winner of the feature film competition in the “Elements +6” section at the 50th Giffoni International Film Festival.
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| Awards for German films and co-productions at Stockholm, Slamdance, Torino, St. Petersburg and Bogotá. | |
| WHEN HITLER STOLE PINK RABBIT in Denmark (Distributor: Angel Distribution A/S, World Sales: Beta Cinema, Theatrical Release: 04 February 2021)
TRAUMFABRIK in Argentinia (Distributor: Irazabel Films, World Sales: Picture Tree International, Theatrical Release: 04 February 2021)
THE ELFKINS – BAKING A DIFFERENCE in South Korea (Distributor: Boxoo Entertainment, World Sales: Sola Media, Theatrical Release: 10 February 2021)
MAYA THE BEE III – THE GOLDEN ORB in Norway (Distributor: Star Media Entertainment, World Sales: Studio 100 Media, Theatrical Release: 12 February 2021)
CURVEBALL in Spain (Distributor: Cinemarán SL, World Sales: ARRI Media, Theatrical Release: 12 February 2021)
HELP, I SHRUNK MY FRIENDS in Estonia (Distributor: Estinfilm, World Sales: ARRI Media, Theatrical Release: 12 February 2021)
CLOSE TO THE HORIZON in Taiwan (Distributor: MovieCloud Ltd., World Sales: Studiocanal, Theatrical Release: 19 February 2021)
THE MAGIC KIDS in Poland (Distributor: Vivarto, World Sales: ARRI Media, Theatrical Release: 19 February 2021)
BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ in Ukraine (Distributor: Arthouse Traffic, World Sales: Beta Cinema, Theatrical Release: 25 February 2021)
KOKON in North Macedonia (Distributor: CutAway Dooel, World Sales: m-appeal, Theatrical Release: 25 February 2021)
Please be aware that all theatrical releases may be subject to change. | |
| 325 films * € 32.2 million box office * 5.1 million admissions * 66 countries
The TOP 7 films, which took € 12.6 million box office and attracted 2.2 million film-goers into the cinemas, are all majority German productions.
This is more than a third of the total box office for all German productions and co-productions:
LATTE IGEL AND THE MAGIC WATERSTONE € 2.6 million in 14 territories
YAKARI, A SPECTACULAR JOURNEY € 2.5 million in 6 territories
DRAGON RIDER € 1.7 million in 10 territories
LASSIE COME HOME € 1.6 million in 17 territories
OOOPS! 2 – THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES € 1.4 million in 3 territories
THE ELFKINS – BAKING A DIFFERENCE € 1.4 million in 11 territories
VICKY THE VIKING € 1.4 million in 12 territories
Compared to the previous year, box office and admissions visitor numbers fell by 65% as a result of the pandemic.
A detailed analysis of the international figures for 2020 is likely to be available here on our website from the end of February. | |
| 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 | |
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