Instagram
Film und Medien Stiftung NRWNewsNewsReady, steady, go in five days! Film and Cinema Conference NRW on November 4 and 5

Ready, steady, go in five days! Film and Cinema Conference NRW on November 4 and 5

  • Film and film policy in the digital era
  • Opening with Media Minister Angelica Schwall-Düren
  • With: Lucia Recalde Langarica, Jörg Schönenborn, Til Schweiger and many more
  • Film Autumn NRW: festivals, prizes, professional events, and lots of films

With the beginning of the Film Autumn NRW last week, everything is now focused on film in North Rhine-Westphalia until the end of November: festivals, film programmes and premieres, conferences and symposia, professional events or award ceremonies offer a varied programme to professionals and film fans alike.

The central part of the Film Autumn NRW is the Film and Cinema Conference NRW organised by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW in Cologne’s Kunstverein. National and international experts will be coming together on November 4 and 5 to debate the future of cinema and film in the digital era and the necessary political parameters for Germany and Europe.

The event is aimed at film producers, exhibitors, distributors and the up-and-coming generation of film-makers. Dr. Angelica  Schwall-Düren (Minister for Federal Affairs, Europe and Media) will give the opening address.

Highlights of the talks, expert panels and briefings on Tuesday, November 4, will be the discussion on  amendments to the German Film Law (FFG), moderated by the lawyer Harro von Have, film financing vis-a-vis competition with online platforms and the home entertainment market, European prospects and innovative concepts. In addition, the participants will be able to hear discussions about ¨Film and cinema competing with the digital markets¨ or ¨Too many films for the big screen?¨ The situation of innovative cinema concepts in Europe will be described by cinema programmer Mark Cosgrove (Watershed Cinema, Bristol). The first conference day will end with a workshop discussion with Til Schweiger, the winner of this year’s Herbert Strate Prize.

On Wednesday, November 5, Jörg Schönenborn (Director of Television, WDR), Mychael Berg (Splendid Film), Stefan Arndt (X Filme Creative Pool) and Philipp Steffens (RTL Television) will discuss the prospects for ¨film financing in a multi-platform world.¨ Other key issues during this day: digital distribution and the ¨Young Generation Meets Experts¨ conference. In the run-up to this conference, the head of Creative Europe, Lucia Recalde Langarica, will use her keynote to outline the European Commission’s vision of the future of European cinema and audiovisual culture in Europe.

Other speakers include Christine Berg (FFA), Christoph Friedel (Pandora Film), Catherine Laakmann (Metropolis Lichtspieltheater), Torsten Frehse (Neue Visionen Filmverleih), Jean-Pierre Crapet (Telekom Germany), Prof. Martin Hagemann (zero fiction film), Johannes Klingsporn (VdF), Claudia Steffen (Pandora Film), Thomas Wierny (University of Cologne), Dr. Christian Bräuer (AG Kino), Linda Beath (financing expert), Susanne Ding (programme manager, Creative Europe – MEDIA, European Commission), Prof. Dr. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau (economist), and many more.

Made in NRW

The conference will be accompanied from November 2-9 by numerous screenings under the Made in NRW banner in Cologne cinemas for all those interested in cinema, providing space in the subsequent Q&As for an exchange of views between the public and the creatives. The programme will be kicked off on Sunday, 2.11. at 8 p.m. in Cologne’s Filmforum NRW with the premiere of this year’s Venice prize-winner ¨ A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence¨ (dir: Roy Andersson). In addition, there is an opportuniy to see films for the second time and learn more about the making of the films, for instance, with director Philip Gröning on ¨The Police Officer’s Wife¨ on 6.11.. The film received the Jury’s Special Prize at the Venice International Film Festival in 2013. ¨Made in NRW¨ is organised by the Filmstiftung NRW.

The complete programme of the conference and symposium, all the speakers as well as accreditation can be found at www.filmherbst-nrw.de.