Til Schweiger, Stefan Arndt and Other Industry Representatives Join FFA head Peter Dinges to Discuss the 2014 FFG Amendment

Discussions on Germany’s new film funding laws are now officially underway! The next scheduled update of Germany’s film funding law (FFG) on January 1, 2014 is fast approaching. After years of legal disputes, Monday morning saw representatives of all sides come together for the first time at the International Media Congress in Berlin. The panel discussion with the title "FFG 3.0 Back to the Beginning!" provided the opportunity to take an early look at the ideas and wishes of those who contribute to the FFA and those who receive its funding.

Participants in the podium discussion included producers Til Schweiger (Barefoot Films) and Stefan Arndt (X Filme Creative Pool) along with Dr. Stefan Gärtner (ProSiebenSat.1/SevenPictures), Johannes Klingsporn (VdF), Thomas Kufus (zero one film/German Film Academy), Dr. Thomas Negele (HDF Kino) and Peter Weber (ZDF), all of whom formulated their distinct positions on the matter. The key themes focused on questions relating to the level of contributions and funding criteria. Industry representatives agreed to continue the discussion and were optimistic about the possibilities of coming to an agreement. FFA head Peter Dinges suggested using the principle of "ask and listen" with which the different industry sectors could submit their opinions and suggestions to one another. 

Among those following the discussion closely were German parliamentary member Angelika Krüger-Leißner (SPD), Constantin head Martin Moszkowicz, HFF Potsdam president Dieter Wiedemann, RA Prof. Dr. Mathias Schwarz, Alfred Holighaus and Anne Leppin (German Film Academy) as well as the producers Maria Köpf, Tom Zickler and Martin Hagemann.