By Michael Zollner
Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth on the Berlinale, the poor audience figures for German films and the reform of film funding.
When the Berlinale starts on Thursday, the film industry in Berlin will celebrate. But is there really a reason for German filmmakers to be happy? Even the five German entries in the festival’s competition cannot hide the precarious situation of German productions. In the cinema, viewers tend to avoid them, while abroad they are usually not shown at all. Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Die Grünen) is now planning a reform of the highly subsidized film funding. BZ met her in the Federal Chancellery for an interview.
BZ: Ms. Roth, what do you expect from the Berlinale?
Claudia Roth: That it can again be what it is known for worldwide: the largest public festival. Unlike the other major, glamorous festivals, Cannes and Venice.
Is Berlin in third place there?
On the contrary: Berlin is the Champions League, Berlin is one of the top festivals. In the film industry, Cannes and Venice are often mentioned first. Berlin has a different tradition as a public festival. In this regard, the Covid period was also very difficult for the festival, the cinema halls were only allowed to be used to 50 percent capacity. The signs are good for this year that more than 300,000 tickets can be sold again. I look forward to the Berlinale opening up the world to us. Because it always shows contributions from regions of the world whose films are not known. And it is a political festival, so this time the war of aggression against Ukraine and Iran will also be a topic.
Many more prominent guests are expected this year. Did you tell the festival management that you want more international stars and relevance?
I don’t tell the Berlinale what to do and what not to do. But glamor is also part of the festival, I can only welcome that.
The Berlinale is showing “Tàr”, which is set in Berlin. The fact that Berlin is re-enacting a film from the Venice competition in a special screening, what does that say about the festival?
That it has great self-confidence. There’s a certain grandeur in putting it forward knowing it’s a good film. There’s no point falling out of our crown. All the more so because the audience is happy.
After the Berlinale, Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian want to think about extending their contract, which expires in 2024. How do you feel about this?
We’ll have the conversation after the Berlinale. However, they made very good decisions, including choosing Kristen Stewart as jury president, with which they reach a young audience.
Their first Berlinale started on February 20, 2020: Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian (archive photo) Photo: Siegfried Purschke
German film hasn’t appeared at the major festivals in Cannes and Venice for years…
We’re catching up on that at the Oscars with “Nothing New in the West”. That’s a great pleasure. It has never happened that a German film has not only been nominated in the international category, but also as best film. This certainly has something to do with the current topic and the brutal war of aggression in Ukraine. But first I’m happy. That’s a great success.
More than 500 million euros in film funding are awarded annually, but a private streamer achieves this success without public funds. Isn’t that a swatter for film funding?
No definitely not. There are also films nominated for Oscars that have received funding, such as “Tár” and “Triangle of Sadness”. In general, important films have been made with the support of our funding. “Rabiye Kurnaz”, for example, which received two prizes at last year’s Berlinale. This year all German Berlinale competition films were supported by my house. Nevertheless, we are currently discussing with the industry how we can extensively reform film funding. We have been in close contact with the various players in the industry since 2021. We need success at the box office, success for the economic location and for the cultural film.
The share of viewers for German films in Germany in the first half of 2022, excluding co-productions, was 9 percent. This is anything but a success.
The goal is to get more people excited about going to the cinema again after all these years of the pandemic. For example, I rely on the KulturPass, which starts in June. In France, this has led to many additional cinema visits. We also want to make German films even more successful. For example, compared to films produced in the USA and distributed by the big majors, German productions need more money for marketing so that a film is even noticed. A film does not always have to be a blockbuster. It can also be experimental, show new perspectives, stimulate social discourse, create art.
The anticipation of the Berlinale is great Photo: Getty Images
Your company’s attitude up to now has been that you want to stick to the exclusive exploitation window for cinema films. A goal that Netflix does not share. Netflix wants to show its products online at the same time as the cinema release. The German Film Academy now has “Nothing New in the West” in its nominations. If the film wins, Netflix will be rewarded with taxpayers’ money, even though the streamer’s business practices run counter to your house’s political goals.
In contrast to many other streaming productions, Netflix has brought “Nothing New in the West” to the cinema at all. The film was evaluated exclusively in cinemas for four weeks. Only then did he come onto the platform. I can’t close my eyes to reality. Netflix has become a very important factor when it comes to making films in this country. That’s not just bad for our film industry.
But do you think the Film Academy’s decision was the right one?
Ignoring a German film that has garnered nine Oscar nominations and a record-breaking 14 BAFTA nominations would certainly require explanation. Nevertheless, we have to talk about what actually makes a film a cinema film – even outside of the funding system. However, we must ask ourselves what follows from this. I think it’s right to talk about the fact that, like in France, there should also be obligations for streamers in Germany to invest and shoot here.
There is always criticism of the German Film Academy, especially the selection of the films. Does the allocation need to be reformed?
I am also in talks with the film academy about such questions.
The 1000 more or less prominent members of the academy will not quietly let their privileges be taken away from them.
Turning the screws a little is not enough. Film subsidy reform is a whole package. We need film as an economic factor, we need it as cultural added value, we have to see what other countries are doing better and why. This also means that we deal with the festivals and the film prize. I’m already having a lot of talks with the film industry about this, it’s about tackling it together.