22/11/2022 - Distribution and exploitation, international financing, platforms, AI, and informal creative networks will be at the heart of the debates taking place from 23 to 25 November in Berlin

150 French and German film professionals will share their experiences in Berlin from 23 to 25 November as part of the 20th  French-German Film Meetings organised by German Films and Unifrance. For the first time, the event will be running in parallel with the Berlin French Film Week (24 - 30 November) and participants of the Film Meetings will attend the opening screening of Diary of a Fleeting Affair [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuel Mouret
film profile] by Emmanuel Mouret.

After a first panel which will put into dialogue Kirsten Niehuus (Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg), Peter Dinges (FFA) and Olivier Henrard (CNC), the debates will report on the state of distribution and exploitation with Isabelle Gibbal-Hardy (Grand Action), Andrea Stosiek (Sputnik Kino), Cyril Burkel (Metropolitan), and Jan Krüger (Port au Prince Films & Kultur Produktion). Next on the programme will be two case studies, aimed at demystifying financing and distribution: the first, focused on cinema production, will be animated by Sol Bondy (One Two Films) and centre on the Holy Spider [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ali Abbasi
interview: Ali Abbasi
interview: Zar Amir Ebrahimi
film profile] from Danish director Ali Abbasi (awarded in Cannes, co-produced by Germany, Denmark, France and Sweden); the second, dedicated to TV production, will see Justin Taurand (Les Films du Bélier) discuss the series Reign Supreme [+see also:
series review
interview: Olivier Wotling
series profile] by Katell Quillévéré and Hélier Cisterne (produced for Arte and Netflix).

An analysis of investment obligations will also be on the menu, in the form of a look at the current situation in France (with Emmanuelle Mauger from the Syndicat des Producteurs Indépendants) and at possibilities in Germany. Next, the topic "Becoming a producer today" will be tackled by Britta Strampe (Bandenfilm), Adrien Barrouillet (Furyo Films) and Antonin Ehrenberg (Patafilm).

The question of artificial intelligence will be addressed in two ways: first in the way it pertains to the creative process, by Erik Schmitt (Seven Elephants), then in its connection to development, by Sanne Juncker Pedersen (who led the initiative Closer to the Audience launched in 2020 by the Danish Film Institute).

The theme "(In)formal Networks: a new trend for the creative and production process" will be discussed by Laura Gragg (Creative Connection) and Thomas Gammeltoft (European Writers Club). Producer Fabian Gasmia (Detailfilm) will then shine a light on the topic "Storm warning: possible solutions to current challenges." Also worth pointing out are interventions by Daniela Elstner (Unifrance), Anna Machukh (Odessa International Film Festival, Ukrainian Film Academy), Anne Tallineau (French-German Youth Office), Alissa Aubenque (Ecoprod) and Marie Masmonteil (president of the French-German Cinema Academy).

At the Berlin French Film Week (24-30 November), 27 films are on the menu, five of them exclusive in Germany (The Innocent [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Louis Garrel, Angry Annie [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Blandine Lenoir, Everybody Loves Jeanne [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Céline Devaux, A Radiant Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Sandrine Kiberlain and Authentik [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Audrey Estrougo), an Alice Diop retrospective (which includes Saint Omer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alice Diop
interview: Kayije Kagame
film profile], the French submission to the 2023 Oscar for Best International Feature Film) and a flurry of premieres.

In collaboration with

(Translated from French)