FILMFEST HAMBURG INDUSTRY DAYS
Platform for dialog and exchange
5. September 2024
This year’s four-day FILMFEST HAMBURG INDUSTRY DAYS will kick off with the EXPLORER CONFERENCE on September 30. Current industry topics will be discussed in keynotes, panels, workshops and closed formats until October 3. Speakers and panel participants include the former managing director and deputy CEO of Cirque du Soleil, Daniel Lamarre, the director Christian Schwochow, the actress and co-initiator of »Let’s Change the Picture« Gesine Cukrowski, Christoph Pellander, Head of Editorial and Program Management at ARD Degeto and Carsten Brosda, Hamburg’s Senator for Culture and Media. The MOIN FILMFEST CAFÉ at CinemaxX Dammtor in cooperation with MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein is the accreditation center and meeting point for industry professionals and festival visitors.
»Together with my colleague Faysal Omer and with many partners from the industry, we have succeeded in putting together a thematically diverse program for our accredited trade visitors. FILMFEST HAMBURG is a film festival and at the same time always a platform for dialog and exchange with our guests from all over the world and a meeting place for the regional, national and international film industry«, says FILMFEST HAMBURG director Malika Rabahallah.
For the fifth time, the EXPLORER CONFERENCE docks at FILMFEST HAMBURG and this year marks the start of the four-day INDUSTRY DAYS. The theme of the future conference is »Risk & Reward«. A diverse and innovative program for cinema, TV and streaming is only possible through a willingness to take risks. In keynotes and panels, renowned speakers from around the world will provide insights into how risks in the development, production and marketing of new films and series can be better recognized and managed and how »rewards« expectations can be more accurately assessed. The EXPLORER CONFERENCE will take place on September 30 on two stages at the Katholische Akademie Hamburg in cooperation with the Produzent*innenverband and MOIN Filmförderung. Participation is only possible with prior ticket booking.
The subsequent INDUSTRY DAYS will continue the exchange on important industry topics. Topics include women at the top, diversity in the film industry, making talent films visible and the future of television. Daniel Lamarre will provide an important impulse on the topic of creativity: As part of the strategic partnership between the Government of Québec and the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the former managing director and deputy CEO of Cirque du Soleil will explain in his keynote speech what he has learned from running a creative company and how he was able to master the balancing act between creative ambition and business requirements. In a discussion organized by MOIN Filmförderung and Deutsche Filmakademie, director Christian Schwochow will talk about how and from which perspectives East German and German-German history is told on film. Christoph Pellander (ARD Degeto) will talk about the future of television and Hamburg’s Senator for Culture Dr. Carsten Brosda will shed light on why diversity is essential for a sustainable film and media landscape in a keynote speech. As part of the »All You Need is Law« series by MOIN Filmförderung in cooperation with the media law firms GRAEF, UNVERZAGT and VON HAVE FEY, producers Emina Smajić, Faraz Shariat (Jünglinge Film) and Olaf Jacobs (Hoferichter & Jacobs) will discuss film reform with a focus on diversity at the panel, Jan Ole Püschel, Ministerial Director of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, UFA Managing Director Nataly Kudiabor and actress and co-initiator of »Let’s Change« Gesine Cukrowski on how planned measures, such as the Diversity Advisory Board, could look in concrete terms.
FILMFEST HAMBURG also welcomes 13 European producers and former participants of the PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE program initiated by European Film Promotion (EFP). They will meet North German producers in the Hanseatic city and expand their networks with the local film scene.
Another focus is young talents. In cooperation with the Semaine de la Critique in Cannes, FILMFEST HAMBURG is once again bringing young talents from German film schools together with professionals from all over the world at #ATELIER24. The exclusive screenings and subsequent moderated discussions with filmmakers Emma Benestan (Animale) and Leonardo van Dij (Julie keeps quiet), among others, will take place in Studio Funk’s Mischkino. The film students will also meet a delegate from the »Semaine de la Critique« in Cannes to talk about their work and demands and about the opportunities and difficulties of making the step from film school into the A-festival world.
The first ENCOURAGE Film Talents Industry Day on October 1 will focus on networking, career development and strengthening the voices of a new generation of filmmakers. New film material for projects will also be pitched to the industry.
An early program item outside of the event period is a moderated discussion with Mohammad Rasoulof. The Iranian director will be speaking on September 27 at Passage Kino before the German premiere of The Seed of the Sacred Fig about the difficult conditions under which his film was made, among other things.
The INDUSTRY DAYS are open to accredited festival visitors and will take place at CinemaxX 3 from September 30 to October 3, unless otherwise stated. Industry and press representatives can still apply for accreditation until September 17 HERE.
Admission to the ATELIER and ENCOURAGE Film Talents Industry Day is for invited guests only.
Meeting points for additional networking events and parties are the MOIN FILMFEST CAFÉ in CinemaxX Dammtor and the FILMFEST BAR / Kasematte20, Alsterglacis 20.
