News

PRESS RELEASE

15 years of Medienboard ... and Berlin-Brandenburg is the top location for series and games, thanks to the film and media creators of the capital region!

Berlin / Potsdam – The capital region is celebrating 30 years since the Fall of the Wall, 25 years of joint film funding and 15 years of Medienboard! The film and media location holds the international top spot: Thanks to the inspired film and media creators, premium content for big screens, smart screens, VR glasses and consoles is created here. 

Since its foundation in 2004, Medienboard has awarded roughly half a billion euros to approximately 5,000 film and new media projects. Film and series shoots, games development and industry events in Berlin and Brandenburg triggered more than triple the funding sum in investments: MBB funding has generated more than 1.7 billion euros in revenue at the location.

Berlin’s ruling mayor Michael Müller and Brandenburg’s minister president Dr. Dietmar Woidke: “Congratulations on 15 years of successful film and new media funding! The creative location has developed into one of the international top players. Making films in Berlin-Brandenburg is attractive far across national borders which is evident in the large number of shoots and the series boom of recent years. The games scene is unique, with international studios and creative indies alike. As a joint economic promotion initiative, Medienboard is a model of success which can be sure of our continued support.”

Kirsten Niehuus, Medienboard managing director for film funding: “15 years of Medienboard are a success story! Thanks to the innovative film creators, the capital region has reinvented itself. A total of 15 Oscars, numerous Bears, Lolas and Palms as well as over 5,300 shooting days per year have turned the capital region into Germany’s most successful film and series location, artistically as well as economically. Its flair of creative freedom, cultural highlights and urban lifestyle is also attractive to international stars. Thanks to the films and series, images from Berlin and Brandenburg are now seen across the world, and besides entertainment, the film industry generates marketing and ca. 50,000 jobs.”

Helge Jürgens, Medienboard managing director for new media funding: “The Berlin-Brandenburg location connects storytelling traditions and future technologies, classic media production and innovative formats like no other. We support this with the conviction that it will generate a unique creative and economic potential. And we promote it through a new media mix of innovative content, events and networks and young talent as well as international funding programmes.”

Roll it! 

30 years after the Fall of the Wall, the capital region has become Germany's most attractive shooting location, features the largest cinematic production volume in the country and has developed into a digital industry hot spot with the greatest number of games companies.

Part of the Medienboard strategy since 2015 and a massive success from the get-go: series funding has brought the region a record economic effect of 600% in the high-end segment and had shooting numbers ramp up to 5,300 shooting days in 2018. New productions currently being shot include Hausen byThomas Stuber, "Sløborn" by Christian “Dogs of Berlin” Alvart and "Dark", season 3. Productions in preparation include international success series "Deutschland 89" by Anna Winger & Jörg Winger, Philipp Kadelbach’s “Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo” and the new Netflix Original "The Queen’s Gambit". Releases eagerly awaited include Betongold, "Babylon Berlin 3" and "Bad Banks 2". After a successful kick-off, the 2nd season of the RTL II series "Wir sind jetzt" (“We are now”) is now going into preparation. New: RTL II first channel in 2019 to contribute to new media funding! #wirsnappenbunt (“We snap in colour”, VICE) marks the first community-based Snapchat format to go live, joined by the start of Die Eule (“The Owl”), an Instagram series.

New media funding pays – excellent VR projects and games are created in the capital region: "Pagan Peak VR", the VR experience accompanying Sky series Der Pass (“The Pass”) is entering the “Venice VR” competition of the Venice Film Festival. “Best German Game” at the German Computer Game Award 2019 went to the Neo Magazin Royale creators’ game "Trüberbrook"! "Sea of Solitude" is successful internationally: It is the first German game to become part of the “EA Originals”. The games location is seeing the largest employee influx in Germany – thanks to Ubisoft, Kolibri Games and Wargaming Mobile.

An increasing number of female directors are creating large-scale films: For example, the productions "My Zoe" by Julie Delpy and "Das Vorspiel" (“The Audition”) by Ina Weisse, both shot in Berlin, celebrated their world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival in early September.  Karoline Herfurth is currently shooting "Wunderschön" (“Gorgeous”) featuring Emilia Schüle, Nora Tschirner and Martina Gedeck. "Gut gegen Nordwind" (“Helpful against northerly wind”) by Vanessa Jopp and the newly minted German Oscar contender "Systemsprenger" (“System Crasher”) by Nora Fingscheidt will be in theatres soon.

Conferences such as MEDIA CONVENTION Berlin and MediaTech Hub Conference Potsdam are future laboratories for both established and young media creators. Here, Medienboard also actively supports equal opportunity for women in media: Since 2018, 50% of speakers at MCB have been women. By the way, the date for 2020 is set: From 6 to 8 May, the media industry’s transformation and latest trends are once again up for discussion, simultaneously, in cooperation with re:publica.

Preview

Films and series to watch out for: 12.9." Gut gegen Nordwind" (Vanessa Jopp) // 19.9. "Systemsprenger" (Nora Fingscheidt) // "Wendezeit" (Sven Bohse) on 30 years of the Fall of the Wall // 24.10. "Ich war noch niemals in New York" (“I’ve never been to New York”, Philipp Stölzl) // 31.10. "Das perfekte Geheimnis" (“The Perfect Secret”, Bora Dagtekin) // 7.11. "Lara" (Jan-Ole Gerster) // 14.11. "My Zoe" (Julie Delpy) // 28.11. "Charlie’s Angels" (Elizabeth Banks) // 19.12. "Berlin, Berlin" (Franziska Meyer Price) // 26.12. "Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl" (“When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit”, Caroline Link) // 5.9. "Die neue Zeit" (“The New Age", Lars Kraume) on Arte // "Babylon Berlin 3" (Tom Tykwer, Henk Handloegten, Achim von Borries) // "Wir sind jetzt", season 2 (“We Are Now”, Christian Klandt) // VR/Games releases: 31.10. "Pagan Peak VR" // "Lost Ember" in autumn // Events: 19.-20.11. MediaTech Hub Conference // 6.-8.5. MEDIA CONVENTION Berlin
 

15 years of Medienboard in figures

• 440 million euros in film and new media funding
• 4,592 projects
• 1.7 billion euros regional spend
• 400% regional effect
• 85 million euros in EU MEDIA funding for Berlin-Brandenburg
 

The Medienboard year 2018 in figures

• 38.8 million euros in film and new media funding  
• 240 film projects (production, material development, distribution)
• 5,300 shooting days in Berlin-Brandenburg
• 60 new media projects (innovative audiovisual content and serial formats)
• 165 million euros regional spend
• 425% average regional effect
• 600% regional effect for high-end series
 

Downloads => Tätigkeitsbericht & Best of 2018