Film in Germany
This is where you will find all kinds of information on the German cinema – from a guide of the movies currently playing to film festivals.
AG Kurzfilm - German Short Film Association
Experimental ground for innovative storytelling: The short film inspires a loyal following of fans at many different film festivals throughout Germany. AG Kurzfilm – the German Short Film Association networks distributors, festival organizers and universities. The association promotes German productions and represents the industry in the political arena.
Federal Film Funding
Art films and box-office hits: film is an important cultural and economic resource. That is why the Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media (Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Angelegenheiten der Kultur und der Medien, BKM) sponsors German film culture, awarding annual prizes in a number of areas. Here you can learn more about film policy, conditions for funding or the German Film Prize.
Federation of German Film and Video Amateurs
Do you love making feature films, documentaries or vacation movies? Then you’ll find kindred spirits at the Federation of German Film and Video Amateurs (Bundesverband Deutscher Filmamateure e.V., BDFA), which brings together around 4,000 film and video enthusiasts.
German Film Academy
The Deutsche Filmakademie e.V. was founded by prominent German filmmakers in Berlin in the fall of 2003. The independent institution aims to focus attention on promoting the art of filmmaking, sharing film-related experiences and introducing the subject of “filmmaking“ in schools, alongside “art“ and “music“. One of the most important tasks of the institution is to present the annual German Film Award.
German Children‘s Film & TV Festival Golden Sparrow
Comments from the peanut gallery are welcome: the Golden Sparrow, the German Children’s Media Festival, promotes film and TV for kids. It organizes festivals and conferences, supported by the state of Thuringia and the German Central Office for Political Education. Prizewinning children’s films start out from Erfurt, the capital city of Thuringia, on tours throughout the entire country.
Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum for Film and Television
From the first moving pictures to digital film: there are thousands of films dating from as early as 1895 stored in the archives of the Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum for Film and Television. The Berlin-based foundation collects, restores and saves flicks from Germany and from around the world. The film building on Potsdamer Platz is also home to costume sketches, scripts, posters and cameras.
The German Film Institute
The German Film Institute (DIF – Deutsche Filminstitut e.V.) guards precious treasures from the world of German film. Whether it’s “Metropolis”, directed by Fritz Lang, or “The Blue Angel”, starring Marlene Dietrich: More than 20,000 reels of film, 2.3 million photos and approximately 40,000 cinema posters are stored in one of the largest archives in Germany. The oldest cinematic institution in Germany promotes film culture and attracts cinema fans back into the movie theaters for special events.
Festival of German Film
Discussing cinematic art on deck chairs on the shores of the Rhine: the Festival of German Film is a very unique event. In the early summer, cinema buffs meet on the Ludwigshafen Park Island to enjoy high-quality films off the beaten track of the mainstream. The competition features movies with an innovative, opinionated point of view - producers, directors and actors vie for the coveted awards.
www.festival-des-deutschen-films.de
Dresden Film Festival - International Short Film Festival
Animated and short films as well as documentaries and experimental films from Germany and around the world compete each year to win the coveted “Golden Horseman” award. The Dresden Film Festival already began before German Unification in 1989 and featured films made in the GDR (German Democratic Republic) that were rarely seen or had never been shown before. Today, it is considered as one of the major short film festivals in Europe.
Filmfest München / Munich International Festival of Film Schools
“And action!” resounds the cry every summer in Bavaria’s media capital, when the Free State of Bavaria, the City of Munich and the Umbrella Organization of the Film Industry (Spitzenorganisation der Filmwirtschaft, SPIO) hold the renowned “Filmfest München” (Munich Film Festival). Parallel to this, young filmmakers meet at the Munich International Festival of Film Schools (Internationales Festival der Filmhochschulen München).
FilmFestival Cottbus – Festival of Eastern European Film
The FilmFestival Cottbus puts treasures in East European cinematography onto the big screen. Every November, the Festival of East European Films features the works of young as well as of more experienced directors. The program includes full-length feature films and movie shorts as well as flicks for kids and young people. The “Focus” series highlights a different region of Eastern Europe each year.
German Federal Film Board
Cinema as a cultural asset: In the 1960s, the German film industry was confronted with a crisis – the state reacted by forming the German Federal Film Board (FFA). The Federal Film Board under public law receives fees from cinema operators, video program vendors and TV stations. It supports filmmakers and the quality of German productions and is also involved in marketing these films abroad.
goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film
goEast takes a closer look at the pictures, myths and history of Eastern Europe. The Festival of Central and Eastern European Film presents the culture on the other side of the Oder River. Film directors and cinema fans have been meeting in Wiesbaden every spring since 2001. The festival is organized by the German Institute of Film and sponsored by the German Foreign Office and the Goethe Institute.
Berlin International Film Festival
Every February the Berlinale conjures up the glitz of the film world amidst the towers and crystal palaces of Potsdamer Platz: an international jury chooses the winners of the Golden and the Silver Bear.
Hof International Film Festival
Where careers are made: such famous filmmakers as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders first showed their early works at the International Film Festival in Hof. Each year, this city in Bavaria is transformed into a Mecca for moviemakers and film buffs alike.
International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
Such world-renowned directors as Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, David Lynch, Werner Herzog and François Ozon presented their first films here in Oberhausen in North Rhine-Westphalia. The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen was held for the first time in 1954 and is known as the oldest short film festival in the world.
LUCAS - the International Children‘s Film Festival
Serious subject matter, poetic stories as well as entertaining topics: LUCAS, the International Children’s Film Festival, features high-quality children’s cinema from all over the world. In September, young film fans will flock to Frankfurt to see German premieres. Teachers will find inspiration for their work at symposiums and workshops. The German Institute of Film is one of the organizers of this event.
Children’s and Young People’s Film Center in Germany
Film, photography, video and multimedia – these are the four categories in which the Children’s and Young People’s Film Center in Germany (KJF – Kinder- und Jugendfilmzentrum in Deutschland) organizes projects and campaigns across the country. The Film Center is sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Seniors, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ – Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend).
Kino.de
You‘ll meet stars of every magnitude at Kino.de, where there‘s film without end. A search machine lets you call up the program of all the movie theaters in Germany, updated daily. New movies are reviewed, a film of the week is recommended, and the list of the most popular films is displayed.
kinofenster.de – The online portal for film education
Raise the curtain! The National Center for Political Education (bpb) screens film classics and current movies for kids and teens. kinofenster.de, the online portal for film education, is designed to encourage young people to watch movies and gives teachers suggestions and ideas on how to prepare their lessons.
Federal Association of Kommunale Kinos
For years Germany’s community cinemas have been creating a forum which has trouble finding a niche in the world of commercial cinema.
Committee on Young German Film
The foundation Committee on Young German Film (Kuratorium junger deutscher Film, KjdF) is devoted to encouraging talent and children’s films. Thus it is committed to a genre which is in desperate need of promotion, for there is a lack of suitable material for films.
Leading Organization of the Film Industry
The website of the Leading Organization of the Film Industry (SPIO – Spitzenorganisation der Filmwirtschaft e.V.) – part of the German Umbrella Association for the Film and Video Industry tells you how many German films are shown at cinemas all over the country each year, from indistry data collected by the SPIO´s statistics department.
Vision Kino
Film is an art form and the cinema a cultural venue. Vision Kino (“Vision Cinema”) is a network run by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media, the German Federal Film Board, the Deutsche Kinemathek Foundation, and the Kino macht Schule initiative to improve the media literacy of children and young people. The website is a source of information for schools about movies and the cinema.
