CHERCHEZ LES FEMMES!

During the Berlinale, the German Federal Film Board (FFA)’s presentation of its Gender and Film study met with a great response from all of the industry. This is now being followed by a study initiated by the actress Maria Furtwängler and backed by DEGETO, ZDF, the Filmstiftung NRW, ProSiebenSat.1, FFA, FFF Bayern and RTL about images of men and women in cinema and television. The women’s mentoring program “Into the Wild” was launched at film schools, and the Erich Pommer Institut has started its “Sparkx” women’s leadership program. State Minister for Culture and the Media Prof. Monika Grütters invited women working in the arts and media to take part in a roundtable to work together on developing a package of measures for gender equality. The 30th edition of the International Women’s Film Festival has just come to an end in NRW, and Margarethe von Trotta, one of Germany’s most important women directors, is to receive the Helmut Käutner Prize in Düsseldorf in May. The German Film Awards have also seen a total of 26 nominations going to women and their films, including TONI ERDMANN by Maren Ade, WILD by Nicolette Krebitz, 24 WEEKS by Anne Zohra Berrached and CAHIER AFRICAIN by Heidi Specogna. Thanks to Pro Quote Regie, nobody can avoid the gender perspective in Germany these days. It‘ll be interesting to see what Cannes brings!