Hello: Filmstiftung NRW Presents 16 Funded Productions at the Munich Film Festival
From Friday, June 26, through Sunday, July 5, the 43rd Munich International Film Festival—one of the most important festivals in the European film industry—will take place. NRW is once again strongly represented at this year’s edition: 16 projects—15 films and one series—will celebrate their world premieres or screen in the festival’s main program and competition sections. The invitations for all these outstanding productions send a strong signal about the creative and economic strength of NRW as a film hub. They demonstrate how dedicated and passionate creatives, together with the Film Foundation, bring these stories to life for the big screen, television, and streaming. The funding initiative is specifically designed to support projects where visionary and extraordinary material meets bold production companies.
NEW GERMAN CINEMA
The“New German Cinema” section, one of the most important platforms for theatrical productions, is traditionally a focal point at the Munich Film Festival. This year, 16 films will have their world premieres, and North Rhine-Westphalia is represented by six productions funded by the Film Foundation: From the dystopian drama “Morgen war Krieg” by Nicolas Ehret to the ensemble film “Für immer 16” by Brezel Göring, the novel adaptation “Identitti” by Randa Chahoud, Jutta Brückner’s“Im Spiegel meiner Mutter,” her first feature film in 20 years, the dropout drama “Schöne Seelen” by Tom Schreiber, and the contemporary Cologne-set film “Die Ballade von Mittwoch auf Donnerstag” by Christoph Otto—the full spectrum of NRW-funded cinema is on display.
CINEMASTERS:
The international“CineMasters” competition will feature“Scham und Geld” (Shame and Money), a film that KHM graduate Visar Morina has already screened at the Sundance Film Festival. Morina received the Baumi Award in 2022 for the treatment.
OTHER FUNDED PROJECTS:
The documentary“Was haben wir gelacht” by Eva Müller and Isabel Schneider tells the recent history of German entertainment television from a female perspective and explores the connection between humor and gender equality.
“Spaziergang nach Syrakus” by Lars Jessen, based on motifs from Friedrich Christian Delius’s novel, tells the story of an unusual journey from the GDR to Sicily.“Die Gäste” by Christina Diz and Stefan Butzmühlen is a very special road movie. Also featured is “Virginia Woolf’s Night & Day” by Tina Gharavi, an unromantic comedy based on Virginia Woolf’s novel. Marcus O. Rosenmüller’s“Block 10” is a gripping historical drama about morality and survival at the Auschwitz concentration camp. “Titanic Ocean” by Konstantina Kotzamani depicts the dazzling teenage world of a unique boarding school that trains girls to become professional mermaids. The documentary *The Mad Dog of Europe* by Rubika Shah offersa fresh, contemporary perspective on the most infamous anti-Nazi film that was never made.
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An overview of 15 films and one series: Productions funded by the Film and Media Foundation at the 43rd Munich Film Festival
NEW GERMAN CINEMA
Identitti – Director: Randa Chahoud || Premiere: June 28 – 1:30 p.m., Astor Film Lounge at Arri || Funded with: 750,000 euros
The University of Düsseldorf makes headlines around the world: Professor Saraswati (Stephanie Eidt), who claims to be a “person of color,” is white! Student Nivedita (Amanda Babaei Vieira), known as the “Identitti” podcaster, exposes the lie. The scandal takes hold on social media. While the press and online communities are in an uproar, Nivedita searches for motives. She encounters Kaali (Sabrina Setlur), her own alter ego, and becomes embroiled in a political and personal conflict that forces her to question not only Saraswati’s identity but also her own. The film was produced by Razor Film.
Beautiful Souls – Director: Tom Schreiber || Premiere: June 28 – 5:45 p.m., HFF Audimax || Funded with: 580,000 euros
Summer 1996. The eternally youthful day laborer Freddy (August Diehl) scrapes by doing odd jobs. When the opportunity arises, he ends up at a resort on the Costa Brava. Johannes, who runs a car rental business there, gets him a job with Herbert (Josef Hader), a nightclub owner with a reputation for picking up human flotsam. At first, Freddy thinks he’s in paradise. But before the season even ends, he becomes the center of the grotesque collapse of this community of dropouts. A comedy of errors set against the backdrop of ’90s pop-trash culture. The film was produced by Sutor Kolonko.
Tomorrow Was War – Director: Nicolas Ehret || Premiere: June 28 – 8:30 p.m., City 1 || Funded with: 500,000 euros
The EU has collapsed, and in Germany, right-wing populist forces are forming a new government. War is imminent. Jonas (Enno Trebs) deserts and hides out with his sister (Naila Schuberth) at his father Stuber’s (Ulrich Matthes) house—a man he hasn’t had any contact with since childhood. But simply by trying to be “on the right side of history,” the situation escalates and leads to a catastrophe even before the war has begun. The film was produced by Epik Filmproduktion.
In My Mother’s Mirror – Director: Jutta Brückner || Premiere: June 29 – 8:30 p.m., City 1 || Funded with: 400,000 euros
Archaeologist and university professor Ursula Scheuner (Corinna Harfouch) makes a sensational discovery of a body that could save her institute. At the same time, she must come to terms with the recent death of her mother (Hildegard Schmahl). The boundaries between the present and the past begin to blur. When her new assistant, Mel (Carla Juri), hints that she knows more about Ursula’s life story, a hidden family secret threatens to come to light. The film was produced by Coin Film.
Forever 16 – Director: Brezel Göring || Premiere: July 1 – 5:30 p.m., City 1 || Funded with: 60,000 euros
Charlotte (Lilith Stangenberg), Helena (Mücke), and Oskar (Chang Wang) reunite after a long time apart and—at Charlotte’s invitation—go on vacation together. They used to be the experimental film group “Les enfants terribles” until they fell out irreparably. Now, envy and jealousy flare up again and intensify when Rudolph (Twiggy) enters their lives. All three fall in love with him and have affairs with him, one after the other. The novel on which the film is based was written by Françoise Cactus.
The film was produced by Rapid Eye Movies.
The Ballad of Wednesday to Thursday – Director: Christoph Otto || Premiere: July 2 – 2:30 p.m., City 1 || Funded with: 42,000 euros
The Chronicle of a Night: An ensemble comedy set over one night in Cologne’s pubs, bars, hookah lounges, and ice cream parlors. Between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, people come together who need to talk in order to make sense of the world—even if they don’t quite know how. They talk, argue, get tangled up, and keep talking anyway. The film weaves together encounters, voices, and moods into a multifaceted look at the present and society. The film was produced by Monte Kalt Film.
CINEMASTERS
On Shame and Money – Director: Visar Morina || Premiere: June 28 – 6:00 p.m., Astor Film Lounge at Arri || Funded with: 100,000 euros
“Even your mother won’t love you if you don’t have money.” The family was actually happy with their life in a rural area of Kosovo. But when one family member secretly sells all the cows and flees abroad with the money, the rest, having lost their livelihood, have no choice but to move to the big city and start over. But that’s easier said than done in a hyper-capitalist society where people have no value. A story about dignity and shame. Visar Morina was already honored with the Baumi Award in 2022 for the treatment. Produced by Vicky Bane.
NEUES DEUTSCHES FERNSEHEN
Wake Up – Directed by: Mia Meyer, Tim Trachte || Premiere: June 28 – 2:30 p.m., Astor Film Lounge at Arri || Funded with: 1.1 million euros
The series tells the story of Emilia Walser (Luna Jordan), who has been tormented for years by guilt over her sister Clara’s (Alicia von Rittberg) skiing accident. Clara has been in a coma since the accident. A new technology makes it possible to transfer consciousness from one body to another. With the help of these nanobots, Emilia wants to “borrow” Clara’s consciousness and thus bring her back to life. Both become test subjects in an experiment with an uncertain outcome. The series was produced by U5 Filmproduktion in co-production with ZDF.
Mimi and Me – Director: Milena Aboyan || Premiere: June 29 – 1:30 p.m., Astor Film Lounge at Arri || Funded with: 830,000 euros
Iris (Hannah Gharib/Soraya Maria Efe) grows up in the 1980s on Cologne’s Friesenplatz and hopes to study law one day. While her father, Musta (Serkan Kaya), stumbles between failed dreams and a gambling addiction, her mother, Mimi (Annette Frier), struggles to keep the family afloat as a cleaning lady and sex worker. Despite the precarious circumstances, Iris’s family home is filled with warmth and a zest for life. Even when Mimi contracts AIDS, she continues to support her daughter’s plans. Based on Iris Sayram’s autobiography *Für euch* (*For You*), the film tells a touching yet humorous mother-daughter story set in Cologne during the 1980s and 1990s. The film was produced by MadeFor Film in co-production with WDR and SWR.
SPOTLIGHT
A Walk to Syracuse – Director: Lars Jessen || Premiere: June 28 – 3:30 p.m., Deutsches Theater || Funded with: 750,000 euros
In the prime of his life, Paul Gompitz (Charly Hübner) from Rostock decides to travel to Syracuse, Sicily, and follow in the footsteps of the poet Johann Gottlieb Seume. But Paul lives in the GDR, and the year is 1982; his plan is impossible to carry out legally. So he prepares to flee. But it becomes even more difficult: he wants to return home afterward. The film was produced by Pandora Film and Florida Film.
What a Laugh We Had – Directors: Eva Müller, Isabel Schneider || Premiere: July 1 – 5:30 p.m., Gloria Palast || Funded with: Production: 140,000 euros / Distribution: 25,000 euros
A history of German entertainment television—told from a female perspective—about experiences on the male-dominated shows of the 1990s and 2000s. Maren Kroymann, Hella von Sinnen, Bettina Böttinger, Esther Schweins, and Gaby Köster recall the image of women that was portrayed back then, when jokes at women’s expense were the order of the day.
The film was produced by Basis Berlin Filmproduktion in co-production with ZDF. Port au Prince is handling distribution.
Block 10 – Director: Marcus O. Rosenmüller || Premiere: July 3 – 4:30 p.m., Astor Film Lounge at Arri || Funded with: 600,000 euros
In 1943, Nazi doctors forcibly test sterilization methods on Jewish women at the Auschwitz main camp. This presents a moral dilemma for prisoner doctors who are blackmailed into cooperating. Under pressure from the SS, the Jewish gynecologist Dr. Maximilan Samuel (Christian Berkel) is forced to make an inhumane decision: either he collaborates, or his daughter will be murdered. Produced by CCC Cinema and Television.
CINECOPRO
The Mad Dog of Europe - Director: Rubika Shah || Premiere: June 28 – 8:00 p.m., Amerikahaus Theater || Funded with: Production: 49,000 euros
This documentary offers a fresh, contemporary look at the most infamous anti-Nazi film that was never made. Written by Herman J. Mankiewicz—aka “Mank,” the screenwriter of *Citizen Kane*—it was ahead of its time: the screenplay predicted Hitler’s rise to power. But the studios refused to make the film. The reasons that repeatedly prevented the film from being made reveal a dark, deeper story about politics and Hollywood—a story one could never have imagined. A story that absolutely must be told in turbulent times like ours. Kölner Heimatfilm is co-producing the German-French project.
Virginia Woolf’s Night & Day – Director: Tina Gharavi || Premiere: June 30 – 8:30 p.m., HFF Audimax || Funded with: 600,000 euros
London, 1910: As a passionate astronomer, Katharine Hilbery (Haley Bennett) reaches for the stars and does everything she can to avoid love and marriage. Her father (Timothy Spall) is not at all pleased with this. He rejects her scientific ambitions and wants her to get married. But then she meets the spirited suffragist Mary Datchet (Lily Allen) and the charming Ralph Denham (Elyas M’Barek). This unromantic comedy is based on Virginia Woolf’s novel “Night and Day.” The film was produced by GLISK. Wild Bunch Germany is handling distribution.
The Guests – Directed by: Christina Diz, Stefan Butzmühlen || Premiere: July 1 – 6:00 p.m., Astor Film Lounge at Arri || Funded with: Production: 700,000 euros
West Germany, 1973. Iria (Greta Fernández) leaves her Galician village and follows her mother Maura (Mercedes Castro) to Cologne, where, amid heavy workloads, she discovers political activism and freedoms she had never known before. She falls in love with the socialist student Hajo (Jan Bülow). After a serious workplace accident at the Opel plant, Iria decides to take Maura back to Galicia to die. Hajo becomes her driver. What begins as a hopeful road trip increasingly turns into a challenge for the young couple. A film about power dynamics that connect the past and the present, the living and the dead, as well as women and witches. The film was produced by Match Factory Productions.
Titanic Ocean – Director: Konstantina Kotzamani || Premiere: July 2 – 8:30 p.m., Filmmuseum || Funded by: Production: 200,000 euros
“Titanic Ocean” centers on the dazzling teenage universe of a unique boarding school that trains girls to become professional mermaids. The debut film by writer and director Konstantina Kotzamani shows how 17-year-old Akame (Arisa Sasaki) finds her siren’s voice, discovers her first love, and undergoes a metamorphosis. The international project was produced in Japan and co-produced on the German side by Cologne-based Wunderlust.