With the amendment of the German Film Funding Act as of 1 January 2025, the Guidelines Committee of the German Federal Film Board (FFA) has expanded the list of festivals that are entitled to award reference points. A significant new addition to this list is FILMFEST MÜNCHEN, which now plays a decisive role in the promotion of German film.
From now on, producers whose works are listed in the New German Cinema of FILMFEST MÜNCHEN with the coveted New German Cinema Award in the category Best Producer Performance will be honoured with a reference grant of 50,000 reference points. This measure will further enhance the work of German filmmakers and strengthen them on a national level.
FILMFEST MÜNCHEN is known as a central platform for German filmmaking and plays a key role in making new talent visible. Christoph Gröner and Julia Weigl, the festival's Artistic Directors, welcome the new funding scheme: "The New German Cinema Award, endowed with a total of 70,000 euros by DZ BANK AG, Bavaria Film and Bayerischer Rundfunk, has always been an indicator of pioneering developments in German film. Now the production has been further honoured with this award. We would like to thank the FFA for this important step, which strengthens the international role of the festival and at the same time reflects a national funding measure."
The AG Filmfestival, the association of film festivals in Germany, has also welcomed the expansion of the festival list and emphasised that this decision reflects the growing importance of film festivals in the exploitation of cinema films.
In general, German films that premiere in a competition, win an award or are represented in relevant series at the newly added festivals will receive reference points. This regulation increases the number of creatives who can benefit from automatic FFA film funding. Overall, this expansion contributes to sustainably strengthening the visibility and recognition of German film productions on a national and international level.
