Film festivals in Germany plead for a structural change in cinema culture

On the basis of its growing importance for the dissemination of film culture and the preservation of cinema culture, AG Filmfestival, like other cultural sectors, demands to be concretely included in discussions on exit strategies for the time after Corona. The aim is to agree on short-term intervention to support the film festival landscape and thus also to safeguard the employment crisis, but also to develop a long-term cultural policy

Time for re-thinking what film festivals do

It is time to “to think about the business itself; to re-think the core of what we do, why we do it and what is the actual meaning of what we do? What is it that really matters? That is the massive win of this year, making us re-think the basics.”, Orwa Nyrabia (head of the IDFA) emphasised in an interview with Geoffrey Macnab in the Screendaily. And he is

The EU’s new film festival network support is far from a trendsetting function

“Film festivals taking place this fall face similar challenges to their spring counterparts: the balancing act between presence and online screening is still required. But what matters is that they are still taking place. Their teams are working full steam to present the audience with an exciting selection of films. MEDIA now supports 34 festivals from 19 countries with over 1.6 million euros.” (Creative Europe Desk Hamburg).For the first time,

Film festivals: friend or foe? A discussion of AG DOK at the 63rd Int. Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film

Some regard them as the last bastion of cinema culture, others as one of the few gateways to the audience, and still others as the outgrowth of an eventization trend. Film festivals: friend or foe was thus recently the topic of a working group consisting of filmmakers, producers, distributors and film festival organizers at the Dok Leipzig. The diverse results were presented publicly in a panel discussion with Susanne Binninger

New Film Conception turns the spot on the film festival landscape

Beyond its own federal state, the 3rd Film Conception Baden-Wurttemberg 2020, an update to the Film Conception 2008, was awaited with great interest. A milestone in many respects for the film festivals attending, as for the first time, not only were they considered as part of the film industry, but the MVK and MFG networking event provided the impetus to found a community of interests and henceforth intensify positive exchange.

Finally an upward trend for women in the film industry

The biggest advance and most gratifying surprise among the results of the new study by Dr. Martha M. Lauzen, executive director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University: The percentage of women working as directors and writers on independently and domestically produced films reached historic heights in 2019-2020. Women comprised 38% of directors – up from 33% in 2018-19 –

New revelations on the Nazi past of the Berlinale’s founding director Alfred Bauer

A study commissioned by the Berlinale management has now confirmed that Alfred Bauer, first director of the Berlin International Film Festival, had played a significant role in the Nazi propaganda machine. During the denazification process (1945-1947), he concealed his involvement with the Nazi regime, adamantly claiming to be an active opponent of the party, which he had actually joined in 1937. This revelation leads to questions on the German cultural

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced new representation and inclusion standards

With the goal to encourage equitable representation on and off screen, in order to better reflect the diversity of the movie-going audience, new standards for Oscars® eligibility in the Best Picture category were designed and now presented to the public. Inspired by the British Film Institute (BFI) Diversity Standards used for certain funding eligibility in the UK and eligibility in some categories of the British Academy of Film and Television

TIFF raising the voice fuelled by Toronto’s cultural diversity

One of the greatest unique selling points of the TIFF is certainly its role in the ecosystem of the film industry, but even more so its understanding of being an immanent part of a city that is one of the world’s most culturally diverse cities. It is therefore not surprising that the 2020 edition also has as its overarching goal the most memorable experience possible for its audiences, and at

Sundance breaking the rules

In view of all the uncertainty surrounding the next festival edition, Sundance new Film Festival’s director Tabitha Jackson recently presented her new far-reaching concept, which not only breaks some „rules“, but fundamentally questions the understanding of film festivals.The approach for the 2021 Festival you find here and further insights are provided by an IndieWire live screen talk with Keri Putnam and Tabitha Jackson