At the beginning of June, the world's largest animation film festival took place in Annecy with a record number of accredited participants. Animation Germany and German Films, in cooperation with the AG Kurzfilm, were represented with a stand at MIFA.
In collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Madrid and the Amigos del Goethe-Institut España and in partnership with FILMIN, the 27th edition of the German Film Festival Madrid took place in Spain from June 11 to 15, 2025. Filmmakers such as Laura Laabs, Justine Bauer and Pedro Carnicer were on site to present their films in person.
From June 19 to 22, RO Days | Industry Events took place in Cluj, Romania, during the Transilvania International Film Festival. For the second year, German Films hosted an industry lunch, with German screenwriters Matthias Börner and Lisa Brunke among the participants presenting their projects.
The 27th edition of the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) ran from 13 - 22 June this year. 26 German productions and co-productions were programmed in the line-up. The drama YOU BELIEVE IN ANGELS, MR. DROWAK? by Nicolas Steiner received the award for Best Cinematography.
In July, our episodes in the SHORT TAKE podcast will definitely be fun. Actor Jannik Schümann as well as actress and director Malaya Stern Takeda have been chatting in an entertaining way.
And there is another Oscar® nominee in our podcast: In the fourth episode of the seventh season of the DEEP DIVE GENRE podcast, we talk to screenwriter Moritz Binder, who was nominated for an Academy Award® for SEPTEMBER 5.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences®invites 534 new members The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 487 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to motion pictures. The way into the Academy is via an Oscar nomination or other special achievements in film. Among those invited are German Casting Director An Dorthe Braker, writer-director Emily Atef, costume designer Frauke Firl, composer Lorenz Dangel, production designer Julian R. Wagner, production designer Marco Bittner Rossner and VFX expert Oliver Schulz.
Calls for Submission
DOK Preview Germany: German Films Service + Marketing GmbH and DOK Leipzig look for the most exciting new German documentary projects. DOK Preview Germany is a presentation platform for German productions, newly completed or in their final stages, with an estimated release date in winter/spring 25/26. DOK Preview Germany will take place on October 27, 2025 as part of DOK Leipzig and DOK Industry. Deadline is September 4, 2025. More information can be found on DOK Leipzig’s website. If you have questions, please contact Lennart Johannsen, Coordinator DOK Preview Germany: preview@dok-leipzig.de.
MIA Film Work in Progress: The C EU Soonshowcase is open to European films (European majoritarian and minoritarian co-productions) in an advanced stage of production or post-production, and looking for distribution and international distribution. Selected films will compete for the Screen International Award: special press coverage by Screen International. Deadline is July 16, 2025. More information und guidelines can be found here.
Les Arcs Industry Village: The Coproduction Village will gather a selection of 18 European projects in development seeking coproducers and sales agents. The selected projects will compete for the € 20,000 Eurimages Co-Production Development Award and for the € 6,000 ArteKino International Award. Deadline is July 29, 2025, 7pm CEST. More information und guidelines can be found here.
European Work in Progress Hamburg 2025: European Work in Progress Hamburg (EWIP) will be held for the first time in Hamburg from September 29 to October 1, 2025, in collaboration with Filmfest Hamburg Industry, the MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, and with the support of the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme. The Call for Entries is now officially open. Eligible for submission are European productions or co-productions involving at least one European country, currently in principal photography, post-production, or any late production stage. Deadline is August 14, 2025. More information und guidelines can be found here.
Applications for Part-time Master's Programme - European Film Business and Law LL.M. | MBA The European Film Business and Law LL.M. | MBA executive master's programme equips professionals and executives in the film and TV industry with the skills and tools they need to meet these challenges and ensure the sustainable development of their businesses and the overall dynamic growth of the market in Europe. Application deadline is July 31, 2025. More information und guidelines can be found here.
German Project VATERLAND wins European Short Pitch Award 2025 Organised by P.O.V. Push Other Visions, the European Short Pitch has been supporting the development of short film projects, young talents and European co-productions since 2007. For the 18th edition in 2025, twelve projects in development and four works-in-progress were selected. After several workshops and training sessions, the projects were presented for the first time in cooperation with the Leiden Shorts festival from 2-3 June and online from 5-6 June. The German-Indonesian project VATERLAND was presented by Berthold Wahjudi (director) and producers Jonas Egert and Sylvain Cruiziat and was awarded the main prize, the European Short Pitch Award, by the jury. More information about VATERLAND can be foundhere. Among previous German-international projects presented at the European Short Pitches are recent festival successes DUTY FREE by Hilke Rönnfeldt and MY BROTHER, MY BROTHER by Abdelrahman Dnewar & Saad Dnewar.
German Director Franz Böhm wins the Sony Future Filmmaker Award 2025 Following a 4-day industry immersion program in Culver City, the winners of the Sony Future Filmmaker Award 2025 were announced on June 5, 2025. German director Franz Böhm received the main award in the student category for his short film ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS, his graduation short at the National Film and Television School. A total of 11,750 films from 158 countries had been submitted for the awards in the categories fiction, non-fiction, animation and student. More info can be found here.
