Film and Cinema Conference NRW gathers the film industry in Cologne

• „Film and Film Policy in the Digital Age“ is the main theme of the conference
• Presentation of the Cinema Programming Award and the Herbert Strate Prize
• Young Generation Conference and „Made in NRW“ film programme
• With Media Minister Angelica Schwall-Düren and FFA President Bernd Neumann

The Film and Cinema Conference NRW is being held for the fourth time on November 4 and 5, 2014. Top-class presentations and panels with experts will focus on the future prospects for cinema in the digital age in Germany and Europe. The parameters for future film policy will be just as much an issue as questions about the digital transformation and exploitation of films. The event, which brings the professional conferences, the presentation of the Cinema Programming Awards, and the conference Young Generation meets Experts together in a compact programme, is aimed at film producers, distributors and the up-and-coming generation of film-makers. The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW is holding the conference in Cologne’s Kunstverein.

Tuesday, November 4

Parameters for film policy and the European perspective
The film and cinema conference begins on November 4 with a focus on the political parameters which are being negotiated anew again with the amendments to the FFG. The welcome address on film policy will be given by Bernd Neumann, FFA president and retired Minister of State. Dr. Thomas Negele of HDF Kino and of Association of Film Distributors (VdF) will join a discussion after their keynotes with the producers Prof. Martin Hagemann, zero film fiction, Claudia Steffen, Pandora Filmproduktion, and with Jean Pierre Crapet, Content Strategy & Cooperation, Telekom.

„Too many films for the big screen?“
Wilfried Berauer of the German film industry’s 'umbrella organisation' SPIO follows this by asking how 563 films released in 2013, a new all-time high, are compatible with the slightly lower number of cinema screens.  Experts such as Christine Berg, FFA, and the film producer Christoph Friedel, Pandora, will then join in a discussion looking for common solutions to the issues resulting from this number of releases for producers, distributors and exhibitors.

„European cinema in the digital age“
In the afternoon, the conference will cast its net wider to include the European perspective. The debate will be introduced by the lawyer Dr. Stefan Lütje. In May, the European Commission published a strategy paper with proposals of how Europe’s film industry can address the challenges of digitisation and the international distribution of European films can be optimised. Susanne Ding of the European Commission will introduce the paper. Whether the EU’s existing or planned strategies and measures will actually help European cinema will then be discussed by Dr. Christian Bräuer, AG Kino, with the economistProf. Dr. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau, Susanne Ding, Creative Europe, and the international financing expert Linda Beath. In addition to the political dimension, the British exhibitor Mark Cosgrove will present his cinema concept which draws more attention to individual films and, at the same time, provides extra business for the cinemas.

The first conference day ends with the workshop on the occasion of the Herbert Strate Prize, which will be presented on the same evening as part of the Cinema Programming Awards 2014. The prize-winner will be announced separately.

Wednesday, November 5

Digital Distribution, Creative Europe, Young Generation meets Experts
The morning of the second conference day will concentrate on future film financing. The increasing distribution of feature films and TV movies via VoD platforms is leading to changes in the market conditions. The business model for feature films and TV movies must follow these. Which new license models Are there as well as others that are possibly more independent of the broadcasters? A first input is provided by Martin Borowski and Daniel von Rosenberg by Cologne’s producers association on the issue of the paradigm shift in TV licenses.

Thomas Wierny of the University of Cologne provides information on the debate about direct household levies for programming. This will be followed by experts like Stefan Arndt discussing which changes and, above all, which constructive financing opportunities exist and how the producer’s legal position is categorised here or possibly must be changed.

Lucia Recalde Langarcia, the newly appointed head of Creative Europe, the European Commission’s framework programme for the cultural and creative industries in Europe, describes the European Commission’s vision of the future of European cinema and audiovisual culture in Europe in her keynote which closes the Film and Cinema Conference.

„Young Generation meets Experts “
The afternoon will see the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW cooperating with the Mediengründerzentrum NRW for the 4th time to hold the Young Generation Meets Experts conference. Young creatives and entrepreneurs have a chance here to ask questions to experts from the fields of film production, TV entertainment and fiction, transmedia TV/social media, web TV and games. They include such leading industry players as the financing expert Linda Beath, the film and TV producers Claudia Steffenand,Claudia Tronnier(ZDF), Meinolf Zurhorst(Arte) or the games specialist Odile Limpach.

Made in NRW

A film programme entitled Made in NRW is being organised in Cologne’s cinemas for the first time to accompany the conference. There will be space for discussion with the film-makers in the subsequent Q&As.

The cooperation partners at the Film and Cinema Conference NRW are: Creative Europe Desk NRW, film & fernsehproduzentenverband nrw e.V., VFFVmedia e.V., Filmbüro NW e.V. and Mediengründerzentrum NRW. Media partnership: Blickpunkt:Film.

The complete programme of the conference and the film programme, all of the speakers, and information about accreditation can be found at www.filmherbst-nrw.de