Publication by the Federal Statistical Office of data on film, television and radio – film festivals a major desideratum

German cinemas showed a total of 2,368 films in 2017. These included 653 first screenings. According to the Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA), 122.3 million cinema tickets were sold. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) in the run-up to the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), each inhabitant went to the cinema on average 1.5 times in 2017. US films were seen most frequently in 2017. Their share of admissions was 64

AUSTRIAN FILM FESTIVAL LANDSCAPE ON THE EDGE OF COLLAPSE: FÖFF CALLS FOR CULTURAL POLICY STRATEGY

Many film festivals are threatened in their existence, some have to give up – Three years have passed since the „Filmfestivalreport Österreich“, which outlined the Austrian festival landscape as a success story with a high risk of poverty. And even though a lot has happened on a formal level since then, the central problems remain: no planning security, insufficient subsidies and highly precarious working conditions characterise large parts of the

New research report on European cinema

This report, written by members of the European Film Agencies Research Network (E-report FARN), marks the 15th anniversary of this unique film research network. Editorial coordination was carried out by the European Audiovisual Observatory OBC.Free download: here

IDFA in the fast lane of the 5050×2020 movement

After the launch at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival the IDFA also signed charter 5050×2020 in September and took this as an opportunity to present its far-reaching goal „transforming an industry built on inequality”: “At IDFA, we believe that meeting quotas in the film program is not enough. As the world’s largest documentary film festival, IDFA is in a position to do more. We seek to create long term change,

Focus: Film Festival #3

The autumn issue and thus number 3 of trade magazine Fokus: Festival highlights the mission and gradual change of the International Hof Film Festival, one of the most traditional German film festivals under its new management. Kent Jones, the director of the New York Film Festival, offers a rare change of perspective with Diane, his directing debut, taking the side of director for the first time. The fact that film

Charter 5050×2020 signed by Cannes, Annecy, Locarno, Sarajavo and in parts by Venice

Initiated in France after the Film Festival Cannes, Annecy, Locarno and Sarajavo, the 75th Venice International Film Festival has now decided to join the Charter 5050×2020 for Equality and Diversity at least in a modified form. From next year onwards, statistics on submitted films and the composition of the selection committees could also be published in Venice. In view of the fact that, as in 2017, only one female director

28th Sept. Panel discussion: Formal/informal networks between film festivals

Formal/informal networks between film festivals – strategies in disruptive media markets Friday, 28th September 2018, 2:00 – 3:30pm at the annual Meeting of the Society for Media Studies University of Siegen With the advent of digitization into the media industry, a development has begun marked by“(t)urmoil and transformation, forcing industry leaders to reconsider established maxims about how screen media are created, circulated, and consumed“ (Crutin et al., 2014). A „rise

25th Sept. Panel discussion: Film Festivals as Places of Cultural Education

DI, 25th Sept. 6:00 p.m. Foyer of the German Film Museum. Cinema for young audiences between film art, digital self-awareness and an eye for the „other“, or: why media education needs stories. Representatives of the film and festival industry will discuss current positions on film festivals as places of cultural and aesthetic education. Nicola Jones (Deutsches Kinder Medien Festival Goldener Spatz), Thomas Schneider-Trumpp (Scopas Medien | Trickfilmland), Reinhold T. Schöffel

European Union requires streaming services to offer at least 30% local productions

According to the industry magazine Variety, Roberto Viola, head of the European Commission’s communications networks, content and technologies department, announced at the Venice Film Festival that a law would be passed in December obliging streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon & Co to invest heavily in the European production landscape. This could be done either by producing, commissioning and thus funding, acquiring television series and films in Europe, or alternatively

Focus: Film Festival #2

The second issue of the new trade magazine Fokus: Festival features an overview of the artistic position of the Locarno Festival and thus of Carlo Chatrian, the future artistic director of the Berlinale, and also provides comprehensive insight into the strategic development of the Swiss A-Festival over the past 20 years. Torsten Neumann offers an extensive look behind the scenes on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Oldenburg