Germany’s film industry got an early Christmas present this week when the country’s parliament, the Bundestag, approved a modified version of the country’s new film funding law. The law, which is expected to get approval from the German senate today, Friday, will go into effect on January 1, 2025.
It comes just in time. Germany’s film industry, like those across Europe, is heavily dependent on government subsidies. Award season contenders, such as Tim Fehlbaum’s September 5 and Mohammad Rassalouf’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig, relied on German film subsidies to get made. The current film funding law expires at the end of this year. If politicians hadn’t managed a deal on new legislation, Germany’s entire film industry, which employs an estimated 120,000 people, could have ground to a halt.
The version of the law that passed Thursday — with support from the outgoing collation government of the SPD, Greens and FDP parties — had been watered down from the original version proposed by German culture minister Claudia Roth. One particular cut — excising a clause that would have required all German film productions to meet specific diversity, gender equality, inclusion and anti-discrimination standards — has infuriated progressives who had hoped to bring the German industry more in line with those in the U.S. and U.K.. Michael Sacher, a member of parliament for the Green Party, called it “a slap in the face to a large part of our population.”
Other changes, including making more production and distribution funding decisions automatic, and pre-approving future projects by filmmakers with proven track records, were introduced to streamline the funding process and boost the German industry’s competitiveness in the global market.
Björn Böhning, CEO of the Production Alliance, called the new law “good news in turbulent times,” and praised German politicians for putting aside their differences — the country is in the middle of a contentious election campaign — to get the law passed. German trade union Ver.di also endorsed the agreement, with board member Christoph Schmitz-Dethlefsen highlighting the law’s significance for film professionals and cinema production support.
The film funding law was just one of three reform “pillars” championed by culture minister Roth. The other two — a tax incentive model to bring in international productions and a law requiring streaming platform that operate in Germany to invest in local productions — are still pending. The makeup of the next government will determine what, if any, progress will be made on those issues.
But Roth had one last Xmas gift for the industry. On Friday, the culture minister, along with German finance minister Jörg Kukies and Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced they would boost the automatic funding provided by German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) and the German Motion Picture Fund (GMPF), which targets high-end TV and feature films. Starting February 1, German producers can claim up to 30 percent of their local production costs — the current rate is 20 percent for feature films and up to 25 percent for TV productions — with both funding instruments extended until the end of next year.
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