| Munich International Film Festival | |
| Location: | Munich, Germany |
| Founded: | 1983 |
| Last: | 2023 |
| Number: | ~200 per year |
| Artistic Director: | Diana Iljine |
The Munich International Film Festival (German: '''Filmfest München''') is the largest summer film festival in Germany and second only in size and importance to the Berlinale.[1] It has been held annually since 1983 and takes place in late June or early July. The latest festival was held from June 23 to July 2, 2022. It presents feature films and feature-length documentaries. The festival is also proud of the role it plays in discovering talented and innovative young filmmakers. With the exception of retrospectives, tributes and homages, all of the films screened are German premieres and many are European and world premieres. There are a dozen competitions with prizes worth over €250,000 which are donated by the festival's major sponsors and partners.
With over 200 feature films and feature-length documentaries on more than 18 screens, Filmfest München has an annual attendance of around 80000. It accredits more than 600 members of the international press and media as well as over 2500 film industry professionals. It has always been a popular meeting place for industry insiders throughout Germany and Europe. The festival center is located at Munich's cultural center Gasteig,[2] where screenings, panels, ceremonies and discussions take place and the festival offices are located. There are several participating movie theaters in the downtown area.
The director of Filmfest München is Diana Iljine,[3] [4] who took over in August 2011. Former directors are Andreas Ströhl (2004-2011) and Eberhard Hauff, who ran the festival from its outset.[5] The festival is hosted by Internationale Münchner Filmwochen GmbH, whose shareholders are the City of Munich, the Free State of Bavaria (represented by State Minister of Finance Markus Söder), the Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Broadcasting, represented by director Ulrich Wilhelm) and the SPIO (the German film industry association represented by Thomas Negele. The IMF also hosts the annual International Festival of Film Schools (German: Internationales Festival der Filmhochschulen München)/Filmschoolfest in November.
The festival's program[6] ranges from lavish productions to No Budget Films. Special attention is placed on fostering talented young filmmakers from Germany and around the world.
The sections of the Filmfest München program are:
This section includes films from internationally acclaimed directors (with the exception of Germany). The films are in competition for the ARRI/OSRAM Award for Best Film (non-German).
Innovative first and second-time films by up-and-coming directors from around the world compete for the CineVision Award for Best Film by a New Director (non-German).
German co-producers of international co-productions compete for the CineCoPro Award which is sponsored by FFF Bayern and comes with a prize of €100,000.[7]
This section showcases stories that are larger than life - grand emotions, lavish production design, big names in front of and behind the camera, traditionally crafted movies by acclaimed, experienced directors as well as by outstanding, lesser-known filmmakers.
The section focuses on new encounters with exciting filmmakers from around the world. Definitely not mainstream. Young, uncompromising cinema from the US, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa and Europe.
The new productions in this section are all world premieres. Up and coming filmmakers vie for the German Cinema New Talent Awards in the categories Best Director, Best Production, Best Actor & Actress and Best Screenplay.
Many well-known German film directors such as Sönke Wortmann (), Oskar Roehler (Silvester Countdown), Marcus H. Rosenmüller (Grave Decisions) and Rainer Kaufmann (Talk of the Town) launched their careers with the winning films of this section.Various Academy Award-nominated films such as Beyond Silence by Caroline Link and The Story of the Weeping Camel by Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni had their world premieres in this section.
This section features outstanding TV movies, all world premieres, which are in competition for the Bernd Burgemeister TV Movie Award.
The section Homage consists of sidebars that honor the work of a particular filmmaker:
Screenings that represent a comprehensive or major part of the work of an internationally acclaimed filmmaker.
The retrospectives of famous filmmakers have included: Sergio Leone (1986), Im Kwon-taek (1990), Lars von Trier (1991), Hal Hartley (1992), Nagisa Ōshima (1992), Stanley Donen (1992), Nanni Moretti (1994), Michael Haneke (1994, 2009), Nelson Pereira (1995), Nicolas Roeg (1995), Robert Wise (1996), Ron Bass (1996), Roman Polański (1999), Miloš Forman (2000), Aki & Mika Kaurismäki (2004), Alan Parker (2004), Barry Levinson (2006), Mike Figgis (2006), Richard Linklater (2007), Werner Herzog (2007), Herbert Achternbusch (2008), Julie Christie (2008), Stephen Frears (2009), Ulrich Seidl (2010), Tom DiCillo (2011), Todd Haynes (2012), Alejandro Jodorowsky (2013), Walter Hill (2014), Alexander Payne (2015), Christian Petzold and Bahman Ghobadi (both 2016), Sofia Coppola (2017), Lucrecia Martel (2018), Bong Joon Ho and Mads Brügger (both 2019).
The festival screens a selection of films in honor of the recipient, an outstanding personality in the international film community who has made extraordinary contributions to motion pictures as an art form. Previous recipients have included John Malkovich, Michael Haneke, William Friedkin, Julie Christie, Alan Parker, D.A. Pennebaker, Claude Chabrol, Susan Sarandon, Jules Dassin, Melanie Griffith and Michael Caine, Isabelle Huppert and Udo Kier, Jean-Jacques Annaud and Rupert Everett, Ellen Burstyn and Bryan Cranston, Emma Thompson and Terry Gilliam, as well as Antonio Banderas and Ralph Fiennes.
Specials that, for reasons of current interest, honor a particular filmmaker or artist with a selection of films. Recent tributes: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Julie Delpy, Nicolas Winding Refn, Willy Bogner and Philip Gröning.
Since 1983, Filmfest München has screened the new feature films and shorts for kids (ages 4 and up) from around the world. Films that are enriching as well as entertaining. The children have the opportunity to vote for their favorite film to win the Kinderfilmfest Audience Award.
Festival atmosphere without tickets every night on the piazza of the festival center Gasteig. Every year a different theme. Former topics include: Cats, Masters of Disaster, Pirates, Rock ‘N’ Roll, Surfing, Dance, Las Vagas, Jazz, Skate films. Screenings are open to the public and free of charge.
Source:[8]
The Filmfest München awards the following prizes (worth roughly €250,000):
Prizes awarded to films other than those in the Filmfest München program: