19.11.2025 | Erfahrungsbericht des ersten Jahrgangs
Im letzten Jahr hat die MOIN Filmförderung das MOIN Talents-Programm ins Leben gerufen: Drei junge Filmschaffende ohne Filmhochschul-Background erhalten ein Jahr lang individuelle Förderangebote, bereisen Festivals und arbeiten mit Mentor*innen an ihrem aktuellen Filmprojekt. Hier erzählen Max, Hannah und Arnit von ihren Erfahrungen.
Grimstad Pitching Forum in Norway, Vienna Shorts in Vienna, Young Horizon Industry in Warsaw - filmmaker Arnit Likaj has travelled a lot in the last ten months. And he's only 22 years old. The Bremen native is not enrolled at a film university: "I'm currently still studying Film & Media Arts at Flensburg University of Applied Sciences. Last year, I heard about the MOIN Talents programme and applied with my short film project. And a lot has happened since then!"
Together with Max Kassun from Hamburg and Hannah Proch from Pinneberg, he is part of the first MOIN Talents cohort. "The programme is aimed at young people who already have some experience in the film industry but are not (or not yet) studying at a film school. Their passion for storytelling is there - but they lack access to the industry. And this is exactly where we come in," says Nicola Jones, who coordinates the programme at MOIN Film Fund together with Julia Gläsker.
The measures can look different for each talent: "I was able to go to Tromsø in Norway for a week-long workshop for young filmmakers. We made a short film there within a week - a great experience. I'm still in contact with some of the people," reveals Hannah Proch. The 19-year-old also attended the Sarajevo Film Festival and, with her accreditation, was able to take part in masterclasses and make new contacts in the film industry. A workshop on accounting was also part of her individual programme.
During his MOIN Talents time, Max Kassun travelled to Portugal for a week at the FEST - New Directors | New Films Festival. Here, the 27-year-old was able to take part in panels and workshops with over 100 other filmmakers at the Training Ground. "My highlight, however, was the Odense Talent Camp as part of the Odense International Film Festival in Denmark. In addition to exciting workshops - including with actress Vicki Berlin from the Oscar-nominated film 'Triangle of Sadness' - we also had the opportunity to pitch projects for a co-production. I did that together with a filmmaker from the Faroe Islands, with whom I am now continuing to work on this project," reveals the Hamburg filmmaker. Max has also presented his projects at the Hof Film Festival and the Goldener Spatz Festival.
-off.jpg?fit=max&w=1200&h=1500&q=85&fm=webp)
But the real highlight of the MOIN Talent Programme is the accompanying mentoring: each participant is paired with an industry professional for a year to work on a current film project idea. In Max's case, this was Script Writer and Executive Producer Martin Rehbock from Lübeck. The two met every two months for two to three hours in Martin's kitchen and worked on Max's horror film idea "Autobahn": "Right in our first session, I questioned his character setting and reworked it. I was a bit worried that he would take offence. But Max handled it really well and the story got stronger from meeting to meeting," says Martin Rehbock.
Between meetings, the young talent was given homework: for example, he had to make texts more visual or provide new scenes. Max has now completed the first 18-page version of the script for his short film.
„Mein Ziel: Kommendes Jahr eine Produktionsfirma finden und 2027 in den Dreh gehen.“
Max and Martin have met three times so far - the fourth and final meeting at the end of the year is still to come.
MOIN Talent Hannah worked with Kiel-based Script Writer Inken Witt on her project about a mother/daughter relationship. The two arranged to meet several times in cafés for their work meetings and also exchanged a lot of information via Messenger: "They were very personal conversations. Nothing was forced - it was a very pleasant working atmosphere," says Hannah. The idea for her feature film has now been worked out. Next step: first draft of the script.
Arnit Likaj received support from Hamburg's Oscar-winning actress Zamarin Wahdat. The two were mostly in contact via email, but were also able to exchange ideas "live and in colour" at various industry events: "It was particularly important to me that my mentor also had a migrant background. Because it is a story that is primarily aimed at the post-migrant community - and someone with a similar background can better empathise with the mood of the film. She then gave me certain questions to ask along the way," says Arnit.
MOIN Talents came together for the first time at the Berlinale in February 2025 - and this is where the programme will come full circle next year. Have the initial expectations of the programme been fulfilled? "I've really developed as a Script Writer over the past few months. And my English has also improved thanks to the international festivals," says Max. Hannah is certain that she has become more open as a person and more confident as a Script Writer. And Arnit? "At the beginning, I thought the programme was very project-based. But it's also a lot about your own development as a filmmaker - I really liked that. For example, I now realise that I find unconventional narrative forms very exciting and want to continue in this direction."
And the course for the future has already been set: Max is now studying "Film" at the HFBK Hamburg, Arnit is applying to the KHM Cologne and Hannah has decided to study "Digital Media Culture" in Babelsberg. All three will continue to work on their current film projects over the next few months. And perhaps they will see each other again in a year or two at one festival or another - but this time in the official programme.
