FUTURE GERMAN CINEMA – 2nd Congress on the Prospects of German Film and Cinema Culture 

The “Frankfurt Positions on the Future of German Cinema” that were developed in the course of the Lichter Filmfest in 2018 have advanced the film political debate in Germany significantly. From  May 11th until May 13th, 2022 we want to develop this approach further and position it within a European context. The topics of film financing, film culture, university education and distribution will be the focus of the conference.

Representatives of different countries will identify the differences, strengths and weaknesses of the respective funding models and production methods. The congress will also focus on the upcoming amendment of the the Filmfördergesetz - FFG (Film Funding Law), the influence of reactionary and right-wing populist forces on German cultural politics, film and his lack of diversity as well as the discussion on streaming services and the economic exploitation of film. The event is being organized in cooperation with various associations and institutions. The congress will be accompanied by a film series on current German film.

What Has Happened So Far

In April of 2018, during the 11th LICHTER Filmfestival in Frankfurt, approximately 100 filmmakers got together: directors, producers, film- and festival makers, patrons, broadcasters, actors and actresses as well as critics. Driven by their faith in cinema, they had discussion and developed a concept how radical changes in funding and financing, training and film education, distribution and cinema culture could contribute to a vitalization of German cinema. This resulted in the Frankfurt Positions on the Future of German Cinema.

The congress initiated by Edgar Reitz was carried by great enthusiasm and a wish for change on all sides. The paper was further discussed at the film festivals in Munich, Hof and Saarbrucken. During the Berlinale, the theses stayed on the spot: at a talk on film funding at the Academy of the Arts and especially at a panel hosted in cooperation with Pro-Quote-Film, the Bundesverband Regie, and Crew United. On the occasion of the event „Filmförderung zukunftsfähig machen“ (Making film funding fit for the future), the pamphlet „Farewell Yesterday“ summarized the Frankfurt Positions as well as other film-political contributions.