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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.

New "Nordlichters" wanted: In 2025, filmmakers will once again have the chance to realise their fictional debut project as part of the talent promotion programme. 1.15 million euros are available per "Nordlichter" project.

Attention up-and-coming filmmakers from Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein! You have until 21 April to apply for the Screen Talent Europe Pitching Forum 2025. The event will take place from 10 to 13 June in Grimstad, Norway. You could win production funding of 2,000 euros for your next short film. You can also make valuable contacts with filmmakers from all over Europe.

Hamburg, 11.03.25 – FILMFEST HAMBURG is expanding: Starting with the next festival edition from September 25 to October 4, 2025, the renowned industry platform European Work in Progress (EWIP) and the International Film Distribution Summit (IFDS) will be held in the Hanseatic city for the first time. With producer Fabian Massah as the new head of INDUSTRY DAYS, the festival in Hamburg will become one of the most important industry events in the North.

Our cooperation with the international mentoring programme First Cut Lab is entering the next round! The First Cut Lab Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein is aimed specifically at MOIN-funded feature film productions that are in the editing phase.

The jury of the Grimme Prize 2025 has announced its award winners - among them are the MOIN-funded series "Festmachen" by Hilke Rönnfeldt and "Player of Ibiza" by the "Die Discounter" team Bruno Alexander, Oskar Belton and Emil Belton. The Documentary "Total Trust" by Jialing Zhang was also honoured.

Following the successful pilot phase, OMNI Inclusion Data is now being launched for the entire German film and media industry. For the first time, the platform offers a data-based foundation to make diversity in productions measurable. This was announced today at the 75th Berlinale in the Hamburg State Representation with industry representatives from film funding, production and streaming.

With "The Seeds of the Sacred Fig", filmmaker and Hamburg resident Mohammad Rasoulof has made it to the final five films for the foreign Oscar - and is now nominated as the German entry for the film world's most important prize. Following İlker Çatak's nomination last year for "The Teachers' Lounge", this is the second time in a row that a Hamburg project has been nominated for the Oscars in Los Angeles.

A total of five MOIN-funded films have made it into this year's programme of the 46th edition of the Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis, two of them into the competition: "Rote Sterne überm Feld" by Laura Laabs will have its world premiere in the feature film competition, "Inkubus" by Hamburg filmmaker and HMS graduate Reza Sam Mosadegh will be shown in the medium-length film competition.

The next step on the Oscar podium has been taken: Directors and Hamburg resident Mohammad Rasoulof is on the shortlist for the foreign Oscar with his drama "The Seeds of the Sacred Fig". The Cannes film, produced in Hamburg, is in the running for Germany and now has to prevail against 14 other international films.