Dear Readers,
The Berlinale was also a successful launchpad for German productions and co-productions in 2025. There were more German films than ever before featured in the first year under the management of the new festival director Tricia Tuttle, with the 75th edition’s line-up presenting a total of 67 German productions and co-productions, including 33 German majority productions. They included the Competition title WHAT MARIELLE KNOWS by Frédéric Hambalek, which received a Special Mention from the Guild of German Arthouse Cinemas, and THE MOELLN LETTERS by Martina Priessner, presented with both the Amnesty International Film Award and the Panorama Audience Award.
German cinema also had a very strong presence at the major film awards event in Los Angeles with five nominations for German films and filmmakers at the 97th Academy Awards. Although there was only one Oscar® for the German nominees at the end of the day, all of their work received the well-deserved recognition on an international level. Congratulations are once again due to Gerd Nefzer on his third Academy Award®.
Spring is now once again being dominated by the Festival de Cannes. The festival’s 78th edition will take place on the Croisette from 13 to 24 May. We are delighted to see that many German productions and co-productions have been invited to this year’s line-up. Mascha Schilinski‘s SOUND OF FALLING will follow THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG by Mohammad Rasoulof this year as another German production competing for the Golden Palm, while Fatih Akin will be presenting his drama AMRUM in the Cannes Première sidebar. This edition of GFQ sees both directors giving insights into the making of their films and revealing what participation in Cannes means to them. Kirill Serebrennikov’s majority German production THE DISAPPEARANCE OF JOSEF MENGELE, with August Diehl in the lead role, will also premiere in Cannes. Another exciting premiere can be seen in the Quinzaine des Cinéastes where Christian Petzold will be showing MIROIRS NO. 3, the third part of his trilogy. But these three productions aren’t the only ones worth catching. Numerous German productions and co-productions are screening in the other sections in Cannes from the Main Competition through Un Certain Regard and La Cinef to the Semaine de la Critique. What’s more, German Films will be presenting the ‘Next Generation Short Tiger’ programme, one of the oldest and most popular talent initiatives, for the 15th time at the festival. The filmmakers in this programme have been addressing the complex present for several years with their different visual ideas, perspectives and approaches, their films allowing us to look with confidence to the future.
We are pleased that this year’s Cannes will again be serving as a platform for the selection of short films as well as the kick-off event for the programme‘s festival tour.
German Films will also be joined again by the FFA, BKM and Focus Germany in having a presence at the German Pavilion in the Village International Riviera. As in previous years, this location aims to be a meeting point for filmmakers.
We look forward to seeing you again on the Croisette.
Simone Baumann, Managing Director