Dear Readers,

The beginning of the 2021 festival season continued to be marked by the impact of the pandemic, meaning that many events had to switch to online formats. Nevertheless, we hope that from the summer onwards, more physical and hybrid events can take place, where film lovers from all over the world will be able to come together and share their passion for cinema – e.g. at the two festivals of German film being planned by German Films in Rome and Madrid in June.

Among the festivals compelled to change their plans due to Covid-19 was this year‘s Berlinale, which only opened its doors virtually and for industry participants with the European Film Market in February. German films were strongly represented, nevertheless: Maren Eggert for her role in I’M YOUR MAN and MR BACHMANN AND HIS CLASS by Maria Speth, for example, were both awarded Silver Bears. Over the course of the year, international audiences can look forward to these and a whole series of other German productions.

To ensure that German films can be seen in cinemas worldwide after the festivals, German Films is again organising previews for over 50 international buyers this June. At these screenings in Munich, German world distributors will have the opportunity to present their programmes physically again for the first time since the European Film Market 2020.

As large parts of society are spending more time at home, podcasts have become one of the most sought-after forms of information and entertainment. German Films launched the English-language podcast SHORT TAKE in June 2020: here, German filmmakers and their projects are presented in the form of short interviews. Less than a year and more than 15 episodes later, the format already has more than 8,000 listeners from different countries.

German Films will continue to pursue the topic of diversity in German Films Quarterly and in the long term, at various events. In the current issue you will find the first voices from our survey: The initial focus is on film schools, as well as on acting, casting and agency associations. In addition, the results of the comprehensive study #VielfaltImFilm (diversity in film) by Citizens of Europe are available, which we will be relating to the outcome of our own survey.

We are all united by a desire to return to cinemas, festivals and industry events and to revitalise them as cultural meeting places of exchange and entertainment.

When the time comes, I look forward to joining you as we achieve this together!

Yours, Simone Baumann
Managing Director