The panel, which was chaired by Prof Dr Klaus Schaefer in his usual confident manner, was able to shed light on a broad spectrum of different areas of the film industry. Artificial intelligence (AI) was the dominant topic of the Media Days and dominated many discussions.
Prof Dr Sylvia Rothe from HFF Munich explained the technical possibilities to date and the legal aspects that still need to be clarified. AI will lead to massive upheavals in many areas, for example in dubbing, composition and sound design, VFX and also in all areas of development.

Joe Neurauter confirmed the increasing involvement in the international projects being realised at Penzing Studios. The Nicole Kidman series "9 Perfect Strangers" is currently in preparation to start filming soon after a slight delay. Penzing Studios is expecting high capacity utilisation over the next two years. Firstly, productions that have been paused due to the US strikes will have to be produced. This will also lead to a higher production volume of international projects in Germany. The biggest point of discussion with international clients would probably be the issue of film funding, which is too complicated and no longer internationally competitive.

Dr Lisa Giehl explained the expected funding reform and the associated overall positive effects for the film industry using the example of Leonine Studios. As a diversified media company, resilience and stability would be more pronounced than in small companies. Ultimately, however, all market participants would benefit from the planned investment obligation. For Bavaria and Munich in particular, companies such as Leonine make a positive contribution to the attractiveness of the location and thus also act as a magnet in the highly competitive international skilled labour market.

The SPIO, as the leading organisation of the film industry, was represented by Christian Sommer, who also heads the Association of Technical Film and Television Companies (VTFF). The current challenges such as the shortage of skilled labour, technological changes and the improvement of ecological production conditions can only be mastered together, he said. In particular, the pressure on margins combined with high investment requirements in a crisis-ridden macroeconomic environment is a huge challenge. This is another reason why he very much welcomed the fact that service companies would also have direct access to funding in future.

From the cinemas' point of view, 2023 was a very good year and they are expecting things to get worse, explained Christine Berg from HDF Kino. AI and skilled workers are also keeping cinemas busy, but the focus there is on available programmes. The reduction in German productions in particular and the already foreseeable slump in American blockbusters, some of whose releases have been postponed by a year due to the strike, are expected to pose economic challenges next year.

All participants were largely unanimous in their assessment of the development of production activities in the coming year. For example, streaming services are expected to continue to consolidate.
In addition, the trend towards mainstream content and the reduction of exorbitantly high production budgets should be reflected in shooting days and sales volumes. At the same time, it is assumed that demand for production capacity for US projects will increase after the strike season - which should increase demand for crew and services. Due to the economic situation, however, advertising and subscriber-dependent programme providers will continue to act cautiously on the market. The public broadcasters' commissioned production market, which is important for Germany, could stabilise at the 2019 level.
The mix of media libraries and linear programme requirements is likely to contribute to the stability of the industry. How quickly processes are actually changed by AI remains to be seen and will certainly have different relevance in the individual trades.

Conclusion: Organising the anniversary edition of the 25th Forum Filmwirtschaft in cooperation and as part of the Media Days has paid off. A co-operation is certainly more beneficial to both formats than a competition. This year, for the first time, the Forum was financed without funding. We would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank our supporters - first and foremost our long-term solution partners adag Payroll Services, Black Forest Studios, Cattleya, International Film Partners, Ludwig camera hire, OneGate Media, Optical Art and Penzing Studios and our association partners.

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(Author: Markus Vogelbacher, Image by International Film Partners)