| The lucky winners in Cannes, for example, included the Austrian-German co-production, GREAT FREEDOM, which won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard sidebar. The drama starring Franz Rogowski was directed by Sebastian Meise with Rohfilm Productions serving as the German production partner. Director Aleksandra Odic from the DFFB was also the proud winner of two awards for FRIDA: she received this year's Queer Palm Award and was presented with L'Oreal's €30,000 Lights on Women Award by the Oscar®-winner Kate Winslet. A complete list of all those projects with German participation that won awards in Cannes can be found here.
The journey will now continue in August moving from the Mediterranean to Lake Maggiore: no fewer than 20 German films and co-productions are in the line-up of the 74th Locarno Film Festival. The competition sections will include premieres of such films as NO ONE'S WITH THE CALVES by Sabrina Sarabi and ZEROES AND ONES (DE/UK/US) by Abel Ferrara, while FIRST TIME [THE TIME FOR ALL BUT SUNSET] by Nicolaas Schmidt will screen in the short film section. In addition, audiences can look forward to seeing Stefan Jäger's MONTE VERITÁ (CH/AT/DE) on the Piazza Grande. A list of the German films screening in Locarno can be found here.
The end of August will see us travelling further eastwards to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. A part of the programme has already been announced: two German films and two co-productions will be screening in the competition sections this year. The Main Competition will feature NÖ by Dietrich Brüggemann, LE PRINCE by Lisa Bierwirth and THE EXAM (DE/KRD-IQ/QA) by Shawkat Amin Korki, while the East of the West section is presenting Ioseb "Soso" Bliadze's OTAR'S DEATH (GE/DE/LT). A list of German films invited to Karlovy Vary can be found here and is being constantly updated.
The Venice International Film Festival has also provided a first inkling of the films audiences can expect to see in September: Pablo Larraín's latest work, the German-British co-production SPENCER, starring Kristen Stewart as Lady Di, will premiere in the International Competition of the 78th Mostra. The German documentary REPUBLIC OF SILENCE (DE/FR/SY/QA) by Diana El Jeiroudi will be screened "out of competition". Other titles from Germany are listed here and are being constantly updated.
An overview of all the German films and co-productions screening at the upcoming festivals can be found here. | |
| The fringe programme included such events as a workshop with ARTE's editorial team responsible for short films, a workshop by AG Kurzfilm about distribution or the MDM Young Filmmakers Day. The screening in Dresden was the kick-off event for an international tour of the programme: the first stops are the Festivals of German Films organised by German Films in Buenos Aires in September and in Paris in October. Industry representatives can view the films on the screening platforms Festivalscope Pro and T-Port if they are registered there, or request a screening link from nextgeneration@german-films.de. The four Short Tiger winners (https://www.ffa.de/short-tiger-2021-die-gewinner.html) can be booked as prefilms by German cinemas via the Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg. More information about the films and directors of this year's NEXT GENERATION SHORT TIGER programme can be found here. | |
| The event opened in the garden of the Casa del Cinema in a summery open-air atmosphere with 160 film fans being treated to Christian Alvart's thriller FREE COUNTRY. The lead actor Felix Kramer came specially to Rome for the festival and presented the film to the Italian press in the morning and then to the film-hungry audience in the evening. The Italian film critic Enrico Magrelli asked Kramer to come up onto the stage for a Q&A after the screening of the opening film.
The balmy Italian summer nights meant that a large number of screenings were able to take place outdoors; the afternoon programme and early evening screenings were shown in accordance with hygiene regulations in the historic screening venues of the Casa del Cinema where the limited seating was in high demand.
The closing ceremony was attended in person by the director Johannes Naber who presented his film CURVEBALL - A TRUE STORY, UNFORTUNATELY. The combination of Roman flair, film enthusiasts and a diverse line-up of new German films made for a unique atmosphere and ensured that the first edition of the Festival del Cinema Tedesco was an unforgettable experience.
The following films were shown:
FREE COUNTRY by Christian Alvart
NO HARD FEELINGS by Faraz Shariat
NEXT GENERATION SHORT TIGER PROGRAMME 2020
LEIF IN CONCERT - VOL. 2 by Christian Klandt
WALCHENSEE FOREVER by Janna Ji Wonders
EXILE by Visar Morina
THE CASE YOU by Alison Kuhn
CURVEBALL - A TRUE STORY, UNFORTUNATELY by Johannes Naber
More information about the films and guests in Rome can be found here. Photos of the event here. | |
| The whole gamut of German filmmaking was covered at this event: a wide variety of genres was featured in the programme - from documentaries and dramas to comedies and children's and animated films. In total, 12 completed films were shown in their entirety, 14 titles were presented as "Upcoming Films from Germany" by the sales companies, and nine new productions were presented as "Producers Present" by German producers. 13 brand new projects from the booming animation sector were presented to the guests in the "Animation Trailer". 19 European buyers, distributors and festival representatives came to Munich. The programme was also made available in an online format to an invited international audience at the same time as the physical event.
Those participants in Munich took advantage of the opportunities offered by the physical setting to network and exchange ideas with colleagues in strict compliance with the prescribed hygiene measures.
The goal of the GERMAN FILMS PREVIEWS, which have been held in various German cities since 2001, is to offer international guests an opportunity to focus on screening productions from Germany that are potentially interesting for acquisition. A group photo of the participants is available here.
Pictures of the event can be found on Instagram under the hashtag #germanfilmspreviews. | |
| In the third part of our series of articles on diversity, German TV stations, screenwriters’ and dramaturges’ associations have their say. Also featured in the new issue: portraits of directors Alison Kuhn (THE CASE YOU) and Faraz Shariat (NO HARD FEELINGS), animated film producer Maite Woköck (OOOPS! NOAH IS GONE…) and actor Noah Saavedra (AND TOMORROW THE ENTIRE WORLD). Selected recent German films will also be presented again: a total of seven feature films, seven documentaries, five short films and eleven projects still in production can be found in the new edition.
You can find the current GFQ as a digital edition here: https://germanfilmsquarterly.de/index.html A PDF of the new issue is available for download here: https://www.german-films.de/fileadmin/mediapool/pdf/German_Films_Quarterly/GFQ_3-2021_web.pdf | |
| Get swept away by Laila Petersen-Jama's positive energy! The storyboard artist with Danish roots is part of this year's FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS campaign and has demonstrated her creative talent in animation projects in particular: among other things, she has worked on such films and series as PETTSON AND FINDUS, PONYLIFE, DIE MUSKELTIERE, PETS UNITED, CAPT'N SHARKY or KNIGHT RUSTY. She talks in the podcast variously about her passion for her profession and her positive attitude towards life.
Writer-director Burhan Qurbani's films like SHAHADA, WE ARE YOUNG. WE ARE STRONG or BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ focus on storylines about some of the most relevant social issues and challenges of our age. During the interview, we take a little foray through pop culture and discover philosophical aspects in everyday life: from MIAMI VICE, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and the golden age of television through Umberto Eco and his masterpiece "The Name of the Rose" to the benefits of a good friendship and much more.
Does this make you curious? You can find all the episodes on our website and in all those places where podcasts are available. Information about new episodes and guests can regularly be found on the Short Take Instagram channel: https://www.instagram.com/shorttake/ | |
| KINO! FILM SALON ABOUT STEFAN ZWEIG DRAMA
The next meeting of the English-language online film club will be focusing on another Maria Schrader film to tie-in nicely with the US theatrical release of I'M YOUR MAN in September: she not only directed but also wrote the screenplay for STEFAN ZWEIG - FAREWELL TO EUROPE, a drama about the life of the writer Stefan Zweig when he was in Brazilian exile. Whoever would like to take part in the meeting should register directly for the next KINO! FILM SALON.
RSVP: https://bit.ly/kinosalonfarewell
Date and time: Sunday, August 15, 2021 at 11am - 12pm PDT, 2pm - 3pm EDT, 8pm - 9pm CET.
Hosted by Sidney Levine
KINO! Film Salon is a production of Telescope Film, in partnership with the German Film Office.
MAREN EGGERT A GUEST AT GIRLS ON FILM
The British film critic and presenter Anna Smith has not only been regularly featuring female film experts in her Girls on Film podcast to discuss new releases and classics from a female perspective - female directors and actresses have also had their say since the podcast was launched in 2018. This is also the case in the latest episode which was produced in cooperation with German Films to coincide with the theatrical release of I'M YOUR MAN in the UK and Ireland: Maren Eggert, the film's lead actress, was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Acting Performance at this year's Berlinale and speaks with Anna Smith about her role in Maria Schrader's unusual love story. The Episode will be published on 10 August.
Click here to listen to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/girls-on-film/id1439182513?mt=3D
Curzon is opening I'M YOUR MAN in the UK and Ireland on August 13 as a day-and-date release: https://homecinema.curzon.com/film/im-your-man/
The latest news about German cinema in the UK and Ireland can be found at the Instagram and Facebook channels of kinogermanynowuk.
CALL FOR ANNECY RESIDENCY
Writers and directors of animated feature films in development can apply for a three-month "residency" in Annecy to be held from April to June 2022. The residency programme is overseen by the Annecy International Animation Film Festival (June 13-18, 2022), and will include travel and accommodation expenses, a workspace, mentoring and participation in the MIFA Animation Film Market for the three selected projects.
More information at https://www.annecy.org/news:a2691. The deadline for applications is September 10, 2021.
GERMAN SHORT FILM AT FUTURE FRAMES IN KARLOVY VARY
EFP FUTURE FRAMES - Generation NEXT of European Cinema will be presenting ten selected short films by some of Europe's most promising film students and graduates at the 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF, August 20-28, 2021). Jerry Hoffmann will be representing Germany this year with his film I AM which was nominated by the EFP member German Films. I AM was produced at the Hamburg Media School and has already been shown at numerous international festivals following its premiere at the Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis in Saarbrücken in 2021. The young directors have a two-part programme this year - an online pre-programme including pitching training and industry meetings (August 17-19) and the presentation of their films during the festival (August 22-24). The three-day on-site programme will be rounded off by a masterclass.
More information is available here: https://www.efp-online.com/en/films/12226/I%20AM
AWARDS FOR GERMAN DOCUMENTARIES
German documentaries and co-productions won several awards in July: one of the big winners at the 23rd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival was Paola Calvo and Patrick Jasim's LUCHADORAS (DE/MX) which won the Special Jury Award, the FIPRESCI Award as well as the Audience Award. July 13 also saw the winners of the 14th Doc Alliance Awards being announced by the network of the seven leading European documentary film festivals during the Doc Day lunch at the Marché du Film in Cannes. The Doc Alliance Award - Best Feature Film went to THE BLUNDER OF LOVE by Rocco Di Mento, nominated by DOK Leipzig and produced at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF by Valeria Venturelli. | |
| Awards for German films and co-productions at Cannes. | |
| KAISERSCHMARRNDRAMA in Switzerland (Distributor: Praesens Film, World Sales: Constantin Film Verleih, Theatrical Release: 04 August 2021)
MAYA THE BEE III – THE GOLDEN ORB in Finland (Distributor: Cinemanse, World Sales: Studio 100 Media, Theatrical Release: 06 August 2021)
BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ in France (Distributor: Le Pacte, World Sales: Beta Cinema, Theatrical Release: 11 August 2021)
COPILOT in France (Distributor: Haut et Court Distribution, World Sales: The Match Factory, Theatrical Release: 11 August 2021)
WINDSTORM: THE GREAT HURRICANE in the Netherlands (Distributor: In The Air, World Sales: Attraction International Distribution, Theatrical Release: 11 August 2021)
HELLO AGAIN – A WEDDING A DAY in Hungary (Distributor: ADS Service, World Sales: Beta Cinema, Theatrical Release: 12 August 2021)
THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES in the Netherlands (Distributor: Paradiso Entertainment Nederland, World Sales: Global Screen, Theatrical Release: 12 August 2021)
HELLO AGAIN – A WEDDING A DAY in Poland (Distributor: Dystrybucja Mowi Serwis, World Sales: Beta Cinema, Theatrical Release: 13 August 2021)
MOONBOUND in Norway (Distributor: Storytelling Media, World Sales: Sola Media, Theatrical Release: 13 August 2021)
HELMUT NEWTON: THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL in Denmark (Distributor: Another World Entertainment, World Sales: mk2 Films, Theatrical Release: 19 August 2021)
THE ELFKINS: BAKING A DIFFERENCE in Hungary (Distributor: ADS Service, World Sales: Sola Media, Theatrical Release: 19 August 2021)
DRAGON RIDER in Czech Republic (Distributor: AQS, World Sales: Timeless Films Limited, Theatrical Release: 26 August 2021)
I’M YOUR MAN in Turkey (Distributor: Filmarti Film, World Sales: Beta Cinema, Theatrical Release: 27 August 2021)
CONNI AND THE CAT in UK + Ireland (Distributor: Munro Film Services, World Sales: Wild Bunch, Theatrical Release: 27 August 2021)
THE COLLINI CASE in UK + Ireland (Distributor: Peccadillo Pictures, World Sales: Global Screen, Theatrical Release: 27 August 2021) Status: Newsletter publication date. Please be aware that all release dates are subject to change. | |
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