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The 76th Berlin International Film Festival began with an opening film from Hamburg - and ended with a Golden Bear for Hamburg: Oscar-nominated director İlker Çatak won the Berlinale's highest honour with "Yellow Letters". A total of three MOIN-funded films were honoured: Sandra Hüller received the Silver Bear for her role in "Rose" and "Der Heimatlose" was awarded the Teddy Jury Prize.

A year of individual Fundings and contacts in the industry: Lilli Pink and Margareta Kosmol from Hamburg and Ashe Schaub from Flensburg have made it into the second edition of the MOIN Talents programme. Over the next twelve months, they will work on their current projects with mentors from the film industry and take part in international workshops and festivals.

Attention up-and-coming filmmakers from Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein! You have until 1 March to apply for the Screen Talent Europe Pitching Forum 2026. The event will take place from 9 to 13 June in Grimstad, Norway. You could win production funding of 4,000 euros for your next short film. You can also make valuable contacts with filmmakers from all over Europe.

Five films in the programme, a delegation of eleven Executive Producers on site and the Nordic NEST enters the next round: the German film north is prominently represented at this year's Gothenburg Film Festival - the most important film festival in Scandinavia.

Hamburg, 20.01.2026 - CineHamburg - the new industry gathering of the German cinema industry - will take place in the Hanseatic city for the first time from 7 to 10 July 2026. This was announced today by the associations HDF KINO and AllScreens Verband Filmverleih und Audiovisuelle Medien. With CineHamburg, the two associations are combining the strengths of their previous formats Filmtage Köln and Filmtheaterkongress KINO, thus opening a fresh chapter for the cinema industry.

The MOIN Film Fund Committees have awarded almost 2.2 million euros to 38 projects in their current meetings. Among them: the newcomer project "Erinnerung an das Jetzt" produced by Tamtam Film from Hamburg and directed by Friedrich Tiedtke from Schleswig-Holstein, the documentary "Greenworld" by "Gunda" director Victor Kossakovsky and the new short film project "Amber Light" by Cannes winner Mohammad Rasoulof.

Script Writers from a total of 19 projects in the development stage were selected for "NEST Space" Fundings in October and December. Ten further projects will receive basic funding in the "NEST Classic" programme.

Hamburg, 03.12.25 - In its most recent meeting, the High End Committee of the MOIN Film Fund supported an extraordinary series project: The German-British production "Hamburg Days" (AT) tells the story of the early days of the Beatles in Hamburg's neighbourhood and the friendship surrounding a group of German artists led by Klaus Voormann. Showrunner of the series: "The Crown" Director Christian Schwochow.

His life story can currently be seen in the cinema with Fatih Akin's "Amrum". Now Hamburg film legend Hark Bohm, Director of classics such as "Nordsee ist Mordsee" and co-founder of the Hamburg Film Office, has passed away at the age of 86. In addition to "Amrum", he also wrote the scripts for "Tschick" and "Into the Fate" with Akin.

The film north meets in Lübeck: the 67th Nordic Film Days will take place there from 5 to 9 November 2025. More than 180 films will be shown in ten sections - including 18 MOIN-funded productions such as the haunting drama "Smalltown Girl" by Kiel filmmaker Hille Norden, the world premiere of "Astrid Lindgren - Humanity Has Lost Its Mind" by Kiel-based Director Wilfried Hauke and the animated film "Mama Micra" by Rebecca Blöcher from Hamburg, which was nominated for the German Short Film Award.

Are you a Director and Script Writer from Hamburg or Schleswig-Holstein and have already realised at least one short film? Are you currently working on a new fictional short film and want to get the most out of your project with the help of customised expert coaching? Then apply to take part in the Directors Village 2026!

In December, United XR Europe will bring the European XR scene together in Brussels for the first time - and you can be part of it! Together with Augmented World Expo (AWE) and Stereopsia, a new European industry meeting place for immersive media is being created here, combining conference, expo, networking and market activities.

How do inspiring visions of the future in entertainment media affect the ecological transformation of our society? Communication scientist Dr Daniel Possler is currently investigating this question in Hamburg's Green Bunker as part of his residency research grant, which was awarded for the first time by the MOIN Film Fund and Planet Narratives.

Two of the coveted prizes at the Venice International Film Festival went to MOIN-funded productions on Saturday evening: The "Lion of the Future - Luigi De Laurentiis Award" for best debut went to "Short Summer" by Nastia Korkia. Actress Luna Wedler received the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actress for her outstanding performance in "Silent Friend".

The MOIN Film Fund introduces the "MOIN Cinema Bonus": Additional funding totalling 100,000 euros, which will be awarded this year as part of the Hamburg Cinema Awards.

Turkey is calling! For the 14th time, German and Turkish Executive Producers can submit their joint projects to the German-Turkish Co-Production Development Fund.

Directors Rosanne Pel is represented in the international competition of the 78th Locarno Film Festival with her drama "Donkey Days". The film was largely shot in Hamburg and realised by the Hamburg-based production company Junafilm. The short film "Die Uniformierten" by Timon Ott from Hamburg will also be screened in the newcomer section Pardi di Domani.

Are you a Director and currently working on a new film project? Are you from Schleswig-Holstein and already have your first short film in the can? Would you like to work on your new film project together with others and gain specific insights into the international film industry? Then apply now for the Future North programme of the Nordic Film Days Lübeck, where MOIN Film Fund is once again a partner institution this year.

From 2026, the previous "Filmtage Köln" will take place in Hamburg for the first time, where it will be further developed into a joint, integrated industry event in a new form and under a new name with the HDF's KINO film theatre congress, which will also come to Hamburg from 2026. Hamburg is thus continuing to grow as a film and media location.

Venice Immersive (28.08.-03.09.2025) is entering its tenth round - and you can be part of it! This year, we are once again sending a delegation from the North German XR scene to the festival in Venice. Interested creators and Executive Producers can apply for one of the places until 16 July.

In the cinema auditorium of the LichtBlick Filmtheater in Heide today (Wednesday 11 June), for once it was not the film that was in the spotlight, but those who provide the film with a stage: the cinemas and their operators.

The Hamburg Media School (HMS) is sending a clear signal for diversity and inclusion in the German film industry with its current film degree programme. Since the current student year, HMS has been the first university in Germany to use the OMNI Inclusion Data survey tool to record the diversity on its students' film sets and back it up with concrete data.

Mayor Dr Peter Tschentscher and Senator for Culture Dr Carsten Brosda received Mohammad Rasoulof as a guest of honour at City Hall today. The renowned Iranian Director, who had to flee Iran in 2024 due to political persecution and has since returned to his adopted home of Hamburg, signed the city's Golden Book. His latest film, the drama "The Seeds of the Sacred Fig Tree", which was funded and produced in Hamburg, was nominated for an Oscar for Best International Film 2025. It has been nominated six times for the German Film Award, which will be presented on 9 May. In May 2024, it was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes International Film Festival.

The Script Writers of ten projects in the development stage were selected to take part in the "NEST Space" and work together on their ideas. Four further projects will receive basic funding in the "NEST Classic" programme.