Germany's film industry seemed to be on the upswing after last year's “All Quiet on the Western Front” won four Oscars and this year's “The Teacher's Lounge” was nominated for an Oscar. , while the government plans to revamp the country's film funding, the system has been widely welcomed, but its painfully slow progress has also raised some concerns.
Thirteen German productions and co-productions were selected, although the fact that the various sections of Cannes did not feature a single German filmmaker might be seen as a cause for concern. This highlights how Germany's current funding structure encourages co-production, which benefits local producers. For example, Karim Ainouz's “Motel Destino'' and Miguel Gomez's “The Grand Tour'' in competition are co-produced by Germany's Match Factory Productions.
The Berlinale became a better showcase for German talent, with Matthias Glasner winning the screenplay award for Dying. Some major German films are aiming to screen in Venice and Toronto, while others won't be ready until next year. Some of Germany's leading directors whose films will be released in the future include Tom Tykwer of The Light, helmer Ilker Chatak of The Teacher's Lounge, Yellow Letters, and Fatih Akin. There is “Amrum''.
Meanwhile, German producers have called for an overhaul of the funding system, including the introduction of a 30% tax break and a requirement for streamers to invest 20% of their profits in European content, according to the country's Culture and Media Minister Claudia Roth. The impact of this proposal is being considered.
Martin Mošković, who recently took over as in-house producer from CEO of Konstantin Film, where director Bora Dagtekin's Chantal and the Enchanted Kingdom was a huge hit, welcomed the move. He acknowledges that it is a “big undertaking.” ”
“The situation is complicated because of Germany's budget situation, which is similar around the world, and because of all the stakeholders: distributors, exhibitors, producers, etc.,” he says. “I applaud her for trying to do that, but time is running out. A new film law will come into force next January and will need to be passed by Parliament.”
He added: “The worst-case scenario is that there is a gap between the old and new film laws.” […] Because it has a ripple effect on project planning. ”
Simone Baumann, managing director of German Films, which oversees German film exports, says local producers have become overwhelmingly pessimistic. Commissions from streamers have fallen significantly, and while investment in content by broadcasters has remained stable, production costs have increased significantly. Germany's box office has also yet to fully recover from the pandemic. In 2019, 118.6 million people attended theaters, compared to 95.7 million last year.
Against this background, the proposed changes to the funding system have heightened concerns among producers. “It's not clear when that will happen. If you start a new project, you have to rely on something. They have to understand [how it’s going to work], because if you start a new project in 2024, you have to understand what the situation will be in 2025 in terms of financing and film release, and this is kind of a black box and it's very troubling. So they're in a really precarious situation,” Bauman said.
One piece of good news is that the funding provided by the German Film Institute, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary, to support the international distribution of German films has been increased by 200,000 euros ($215,000) to 950,000 euros ($1.02 million). Bauman said that the
Despite this increased distribution support, co-managing director of distributor Picture Tree Intl said: Andreas Rossbauer is appalled by the German government's approach to exporting local films. “There's no interest, no knowledge, no international strategy at all,” he says. According to him, around 2% of the total annual German film budget is spent on international measures, and of the more than 200 films produced in Germany each year, fewer than half have sales agents. He says there is no. He suggests that public funds should be required to have distributors.
