We caught up with the Head of Industry from the German-speaking film prize about how they support and champion upcoming filmmakers, as well as what to expect from the 2025 edition of the festival, which starts today (Jan 20th.)
Hi Louise! Why – in your opinion – are short films important?
We need short films because the diversity of formats is fundamental to artistic freedom.
What about your role and organisation do you find most inspiring?
I’ve only just joined the team of Max Ophüls Film Festival as Head of Industry, but I have admired the festival’s work for many years. I am enthusiastic about the wonderful films showcased here and the diversity of German-speaking cinema they represent, and about the inspiring talents that come to Saarbrücken every year.
Our goal is to ensure that they have a rewarding experience during the festival week and especially through the Industry programme, while also helping to bring visibility to their work.
Could you describe who Filmfestival Max Öphuls Preis aims to work with?
Our focus lies clearly on emerging filmmakers, supporting them from their very first works up to their third feature film, regardless of their age or study status. We select fictional films of all lengths as well as feature-length documentaries.
While our competitions highlight filmmakers from German-speaking countries, we are also looking for opportunities to promote cross-border collaboration and building talent networks.
Our co-production event “MOP-Meetings”, for example, is now taking place for the 8th time. Its goal is to bring together up-and-coming producers from various European countries and offer them a platform to explore co-production opportunities together, starting on a smaller scale.
In which ways does your organisation help the filmmakers you work with? Do you happen to have any success stories to share?
What we truly aim for is to make artistic talent visible, create space for ideas to grow, and help filmmakers connect with the right partners to bring those ideas to life.
As a festival, we strive to promote the films, facilitate connections, award prizes and provide any support that helps emerging filmmakers to share their artistic vision and their ideas of how they want to work in this industry.
For instance, it’s fantastic that we can introduce a new award this year. In collaboration with the editorial team of ZDF/Das kleine Fernsehspiel, we will honor an idea for a feature film debut, supporting the development of a treatment. This opportunity is aimed at all filmmakers who have had a short or mid-length film in our programme in recent years.
And for the visibility of completed short films, we are also delighted about our partnership with T-Port which helps bring the short and mid-length films from our programme to the attention of the wider industry.
What advice would you give for upcoming filmmakers who want to get involved? Where do they start?
I would say it’s important to work on your network and then spread your ideas, remain authentic.
Any events or films coming up that you’d like to promote? Tell us about them here.
Our festival starts January 20th with a great film programme and a variety of industry events, from Masterclasses to Pitchings. We look forward to welcoming everyone to join us.
For instance we will talk about fair leadership and teamwork in creative teams. We are hoping for a lively exchange – also between different creative industries – because we want the participants in the industry programme to always be able to learn from each other.
Another great event is a talk called „Silver Linings“: In the tradition of so-called fuck-up nights, we talk to two experienced producers about their moments of failure and what they learned from them, in the belief that this will give young filmmakers courage for their own work.
What do you think is lacking in the process of distributing and promoting short films by upcoming filmmakers?
I see one difficulty in the large number and various specific focuses of film festivals. Without a classification or guidance, it becomes difficult to determine which festivals are truly beneficial for your own film. Submission fees can quickly add up, and travel expenses for attending festivals can strain budgets.
Another issue is visibility with so many films competing for attention… Therefore we are very happy to be hosting a joint panel with T-Port as part of our industry programme to talk about healthy expectations from festivals and sales agents. By shedding light on what filmmakers can realistically expect, we hope to empower emerging talents and offer practical solutions for navigating in the festival circuit.
What do feel young film talents lack the most today, after graduating from film school? Where are the gaps in the film industry?
Of course, there are different obstacles in every country, but the most difficult thing is probably to finance projects in a general sense and to find a good “business model” for your professional work after graduation in a personal sense. It is not easy to realize your ideas in a tough market that is currently going through a particularly difficult phase – both on the production side and on the distribution side. We have to work together to ensure that great talent is visible.
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