At this year's Green Tech Day (GTD) organised by the Association of Technical Organisations for Film and Television (VTFF) is on the verge of the Berlin International Film Festival the future of Germany as a film and television location took centre stage. Around 260 industry representatives attended two panels on investment incentives and sustainable production standards at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Investment pact as a signal for the market

VTFF Managing Director Achim Rohnke welcomed the Minister of State for Culture to the opening event Wolfram Weimer. Weimer is regarded as the driving force behind the planned investment pact, which is intended to oblige streaming services and broadcasters to make binding investments in Germany as a production location in future. The pact has so far been finalised in key points and still has to be approved by the Federal Cabinet.

Weimer referred to the initial effects of the announced measures. By increasing the funding quota to 30 per cent, the number of applications for film funding has risen by up to 35 per cent. He expects an investment commitment law to be passed in the autumn, which should contain opening clauses for individual industry agreements. The promised 250 million euros in funding, some of which had been blocked in the meantime, is to be released in full and secured for the long term.

In this context, Rohnke referred to the tense economic situation of many production and service companies. Continuous production activity is crucial so that investments in new technologies can be refinanced.

Industry calls for rapid and practicable implementation

In the subsequent panel under the heading "Back in the race - will Germany as a production location catch up in European competition?", the panellists predominantly rated the investment pact as a positive signal.

Jörg BachmaierChairman of the Management Board of Studio Babelsberg, spoke of an end to the "hanging game" and called for swift action. The concrete form of the law is now crucial.

Inga Moser from Filseck, Head of Media Policy at the streaming provider Amazon, was more cautious. Future regulations would have to enable economically viable models for all parties involved.

Also German Federal Film Board (FFA) held out the prospect of adjustments. The deputy head of funding Jolinde Sawahn announced a simplification of historically evolved funding guidelines. At the same time, she called for cross-industry initiative in the design of future agreements.

Michael Polle of Polle Hofmann Pictures emphasised the need to quickly make the DFFF and GMPF funding instruments competitive. Sven PannickeManaging Director of the VFX studio RISE, referred to the economically strained situation of many technical and creative service providers and argued in favour of a transitional solution until the final adoption of the law.

There was agreement that strengthening the location was a joint task. Thomas Schreiber from Degeto Film called for close coordination within the industry. Helge Albers from Moin Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein pointed out that the phase of uncertainty had to come to an end.

Progress in green shooting - call for European harmonisation

In the second panel "Green without borders? Sustainability in international co-productions", experts from several European countries discussed ecological standards in film production. The event was organised by the Green Shooting working group.

Carl Bergengruen, head of the working group, gave a positive interim assessment of the ecological standards that have been in force in Germany since 2022. Measures such as reducing air travel, dispensing with disposable crockery and diesel generators and using green electricity had significantly reduced CO₂ emissions in various production formats.

The German standards have met with an international response. Patrik Axén referred to the introduction of common Nordic standards in Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Finland at the beginning of the year. European harmonisation is seen as a medium-term goal by many of those involved.

Alissa Aubenque from Ecoprod drew attention to the different sets of regulations in France and spoke out in favour of greater harmonisation and mutual recognition of national standards. Also Nina Hauser from the Austrian Film Institute called for more strategic cooperation at European level.

Reports from the field Melina GrahovacGreen Consultant for the international co-production "Keep Her Quiet", talks about the challenges of filming in several countries, each with different requirements. A uniform European standard would bring considerable simplification from a production perspective.

The discussion was moderated by Philip GassmannProfessor at the University of Television and Film Munich.

The Green Tech Day thus made it clear that both the financial and ecological orientation of Germany as a production location is currently in a phase of fundamental course-setting - with expectations of rapid political implementation and greater European harmonisation.