Dear visitors

This website predominantly reflects current research results pertaining to the German film festival landscape. Growing international interest has prompted us to also offer the contents successively in English. We appreciate your understanding, should you encounter any content that is still only in German.
Many thanks for your interest, The filmfestival-studien.de Team

Lecture: The ecosystem of Chinese film festivals and their contribution to the diversity of film culture

A lecture by CAO Liuying, board member of the Shanghai Film Critics Association, on February 14, 2025 at 7:30 pm via ZoomThe Chinese film market is characterized by a large population base and a strong production landscape. Nevertheless, the distribution sector is increasingly struggling with growing homogenization. The scope for independent and low-budget films, especially arthouse, has been further restricted in recent years. The film festival landscape is trying to

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Film festival on course for success again in 2024

With the statement “more guests than ever before at the Hof International Film Festival” festival director Thorsten Schaumann underlined the positive balance of the last edition on behalf of a large number of German film festivals in 2024, thus also pointing to the continuing interest of audiences and industry visitors in film experiences outside of the regular cinema. However, the fact that the success of numerous film festivals in the

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Debt brake in major cities brings film festivals into existential difficulties

While last year the drastic cost-cutting measures of a number of municipalities also reached the film festival sector, it is now also the metropolitan areas, including the city states, whose in part massive savings are jeopardizing the existence of a large number of film festivals. In Berlin, film festivals such as the Berlinale as well as the film festival platform SinemaTranstopia and thus a number of film festivals that strive

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Sundance demonstrates the extraordinary value of film festivals for their locations

In May 2024, factors such as infrastructural restrictions on its social inclusion efforts, the incompatibility of openness towards diverse life concepts and the political and legal framework conditions, as well as the lack of support from the local population, prompted the Sundance Institute to issue a call for tenders for a new location. As a result, numerous US cities from San Francisco to Cincinnati bid to host the world’s most

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Publication of the 2023 analysis of the film festival sector

With the publication of the new edition of the SPIO Film Statistics Yearbook (Filmstatistisches Jahrbuch), the latest data on the film festival landscape once again complements the developments in the film industry in Germany. While the German film festival sector was characterized by significant consolidation in 2022 and the associated heavy losses, this phase is now coming to an end in 2023 with 14 new entries and 24 market exits.

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3, 2, 1 take off THIS IS SHORT

After two seasons in 2021 and 2022, the streaming portal THIS IS SHORT will be launched today on November 20, 2023 as a new and permanent short film platform available worldwide. The streaming service for „great cinema in all its shortness“ is curated and presented by no less than the six major festivals Vienna Shorts (AT), International Short Film Festival Oberhausen (DE), Go Short (NL), Short Waves (PL), IndieLisboa (PT)

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Statement by the AG Filmfestival on the attacks on film festivals as a result of the Israel-Palestine conflict 

Since November 1, unknown activists via a blog of the so called international film community have been severely criticizing Lars Henrik Gass, the director of the Oberhausen Short Film Festival, and now also Orwa Nyrabia, the director of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, must face far-reaching accusations in connection with the Israel-Palestine conflict, the AG Filmfestival has now published a statement (first published by Artechock). „The AG Filmfestival stands

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„the public interest is not what the public is interested in“ – two studies ask for more depth and diversity

Last week, the presentation of a study by the MaLisa Foundation showed that the audience of all major German television channels (ARD, ZDF, RTL, SAT1/PRO7) would like to see a more differentiated and well-founded engagement with the issues of our time. Now the European Audiovisual Observatory provides detailed insights at the European level into what the European audience wants and expects from all platforms, including broadcasting and online. Even if

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Screenwriters‘ strike ends after 148 days, actors‘ strike continues

Yesterday the strike of the screenwriters in Hollywood ended, while the colleagues of the actors‘ union SAG-AFTRA continue to strike and consequently the wheel of the US-American productions still stands in wide parts. It is not yet clear what the consequences of this shortage of film work will be aswell for film festivals. At the heart of the agreement are significant fee increases for authors, the ban on using AI

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Climate balance of the Filmkunstmesse Leipzig shows its carbon footprint: 68,462.19 kg

For the first time, the Filmkunstmesse Leipzig commissioned KlimAktiv gGmbH to prepare a climate balance sheet to determine the carbon footprint: Basis of the calculation for the 5-day event at which 81 films were presented in 170 screenings and 7 panels and 7 seminars with 42 panelists and speakers were organized for almost 1,100 trade visitors. Some key values thus resulted from 4,977 m² of cinema, 2,031 m² of event

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