The Munich International Film Festival () is the largest summer

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and second only in size and importance to the

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

. It has been held annually since 1983 and takes place in late June or early July. It presents feature films and feature-length

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

. The festival is also proud of the role it plays in discovering talented and innovative young filmmakers. With the exception of retrospectives, tributes and homages, all of the films screened are German premieres and many are

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an and world premieres. There are a dozen competitions with prizes worth over €250,000 which are donated by the festival's major sponsors and partners. The 42nd Munich International Film Festival is scheduled to take place from 27 June to 6 July 2025. Rio-palast-muenchen-2019

With over 200 feature films and feature-length documentaries on more than 18 screens, Filmfest München has an annual attendance of around 80,000. It accredits more than 600 members of the international press and media as well as over 2,500 film industry professionals. It has always been a popular meeting place for industry insiders throughout Germany and Europe. The festival center is located at Munich's cultural center Gasteig, where screenings, panels, ceremonies and discussions take place and the festival offices are located. There are several participating movie theaters in the downtown area. The director of Filmfest

München Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

is Diana Iljine, who took over in August 2011. Former directors are Andreas Ströhl (2004–2011) and Eberhard Hauff, who ran the festival from its outset. The festival is hosted by ''Internationale Münchner Filmwochen GmbH'', whose shareholders are the City of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, the Free State of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

(represented by State Minister of Finance

Markus Söder Markus Thomas Theodor Söder (born 5 January 1967) is a German politician from Bavaria, Germany serving as List of Ministers-President of Bavaria, Minister-President of Bavaria since 2018 and Leader of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, lead ...

), the

Bayerischer Rundfunk (; "Bavarian Broadcasting"), shortened to BR (), is a public broadcasting, public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Bavaria, Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD (b ...

(Bavarian Broadcasting, represented by Director Ulrich Wilhelm) and the SPIO (the German film industry association represented by Thomas Negele. The IMF also hosts the annual International Festival of Film Schools (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: Internationales Festival der Filmhochschulen München)/Filmschoolfest in November.

Sections and Sidebars

The festival's program ranges from lavish productions to No Budget Films. Special attention is placed on fostering talented young filmmakers from

and around the world. The sections of the Filmfest München program are:

CineMasters Competition

This section includes films from internationally acclaimed

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

s (with the exception of Germany). The films are in competition for the ''

ARRI Arri Group () (stylized as "ARRI") is a German manufacturer of motion picture film equipment. Based in Munich, the company was founded in 1917. It produces professional motion picture cameras, lenses, lighting and post-production equipment. It ...

/OSRAM Award'' for Best Film (non-German).

CineVision Competition

Innovative first and second-time films by up-and-coming directors from around the world compete for the ''CineVision Award'' for Best Film by a New Director (non-German).

CineCoPro Competition

German co-producers of international co-productions compete for the CineCoPro Award which is sponsored by FFF Bayern and comes with a prize of €100,000.

Spotlight

This section showcases stories that are larger than life - grand emotions, lavish production design, big names in front of and behind the camera, traditionally crafted movies by acclaimed, experienced directors as well as by outstanding, lesser-known filmmakers.

International Independents

The section focuses on new encounters with exciting filmmakers from around the world. Definitely not mainstream. Young, uncompromising cinema from the US, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa and Europe.

New German Cinema

The new productions in this section are all world premieres. Up and coming filmmakers vie for the ''German Cinema New Talent Awards'' in the categories Best Director, Best Production, Best Actor & Actress and Best Screenplay. Many well-known German film directors such as

Sönke Wortmann Sönke Wortmann (; 25 August 1959 in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German film director and producer. Biography Wortmann's father was a miner. After Wortmann's A-Levels he wanted to become a professional football player and started playi ...

('),

Oskar Roehler Oskar Roehler (born 21 January 1959) is a German film director, screenwriter and journalist. He was born in Starnberg, the son of writers Gisela Elsner and Klaus Roehler. Since the mid-1980s, he has been working as a screenwriter, for, among ot ...

(''Silvester Countdown''), Marcus H. Rosenmüller ('' Grave Decisions'') and Rainer Kaufmann ('' Talk of the Town'') launched their careers with the winning films of this section. Various

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-nominated films such as '' Beyond Silence'' by Caroline Link and '' The Story of the Weeping Camel'' by Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni had their world premieres in this section.

New German TV Movies

This section features outstanding TV movies, all world premieres, which are in competition for the ''Bernd Burgemeister TV Movie Award''.

Homage

The section Homage consists of sidebars that honor the work of a particular filmmaker:

Retrospectives

Screenings that represent a comprehensive or major part of the work of an internationally acclaimed filmmaker. The retrospectives of famous filmmakers have included:

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone ( ; ; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian filmmaker, credited as the pioneer of the spaghetti Western genre. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. Leone's film-making style ...

(1986),

Im Kwon-taek Im Kwon-taek (; born December 8, 1934) is one of South Korea's most renowned film directors. In an active and prolific career, his films have won many domestic and international film festival awards, as well as considerable box-office success, ...

(1990),

Lars von Trier Lars von Trier (né Trier; born 30 April 1956) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. Beginning in the late-1960s as a child actor working on Danish television series ''Secret Summer'', von Trier's career has spanned more than five decad ...

(1991), Hal Hartley (1992),

Nagisa Ōshima was a Japanese filmmaker, writer, and left-wing activist who is best known for his fiction films, of which he directed 23 features in a career spanning from 1959 to 1999. He is regarded as one of the greatest Japanese directors of all time, and ...

(1992),

Stanley Donen Stanley Donen ( ; April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer. He received the Honorary Academy Award in 70th Academy Awards, 1998, and the Golden Lion#Golden Lion – Honorary Award, Career Golden Lion ...

(1992),

Nanni Moretti Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti (; born 19 August 1953) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His films have won accolades, including a at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for ''The Son's Room'', a Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize ...

(1994),

Michael Haneke Michael Haneke (; born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, Ge ...

(1994, 2009), Nelson Pereira (1995),

Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg ( ; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing ''Performance (film), Performance'' (1970), ''Walkabout (film), Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973) ...

(1995),

Robert Wise Robert Earl Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) was an American filmmaker. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his musical films ''West Side Story'' (1961) and ''The Sound of Music'' (1965). He was als ...

(1996), Ron Bass (1996), Roman Polański (1999),

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech Americans, Czech-American film film director, director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the Uni ...

(2000), Aki &

Mika Kaurismäki Mika Juhani Kaurismäki (; born 21 September 1955) is a Finnish film director. Early life and education Mika Kaurismäki was born in Orimattila. He is the elder brother of Aki Kaurismäki. After high school, Kaurismäki worked as a painter of ...

(2004),

Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English film director, screenwriter and producer. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After abo ...

(2004),

Barry Levinson Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Levinson won the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Rain Man'' (1988). His other best-known works are ''Diner'' (1982), '' The Natural'' (1984 ...

(2006),

Mike Figgis Michael Figgis (born 28 February 1948) is an English film director, screenwriter, and composer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for his work on '' Leaving Las Vegas'' (1995). Figgis was the founding patron of the independent filmmakers' ...

(2006),

Richard Linklater Richard Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making films that deal thematically with suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. In 2015, Linklater was included on the annual ''Time'' 100 li ...

(2007),

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...

(2007),

Herbert Achternbusch Herbert Achternbusch ( Schild; 23 November 1938 – 10 January 2022) was a German film director, writer and painter. He began as a writer of avant-garde prose, such as the novel ''Die Alexanderschlacht'', before turning to low-budget films. He h ...

(2008),

Julie Christie Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. Christie's accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has appeared in six films ranked in the British Film Institu ...

(2008),

Stephen Frears Sir Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is a British director and producer of film and television, often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply-drawn characters. He has received numerous a ...

(2009), Ulrich Seidl (2010), Tom DiCillo (2011),

Todd Haynes Todd Haynes (; born January 2, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films span four decades with themes examining the personalities of well-known musicians, dysfunctional and dystopian societies, and blurred gender ...

(2012),

Alejandro Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean and French Experimental film, avant-garde filmmaker. Known for his films ''El Topo'' (1970), ''The Holy Mountain (1973 film), The Holy Mountain'' (1973) and ''Santa Sangre'' ...

(2013),

Walter Hill Walter Hill (born January 10, 1942) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer known for his action films and revival of the Western (genre), Western genre. He has directed such films as ''The Driver'', ''The Warriors (film), The ...

(2014),

Alexander Payne Constantine Alexander Payne (born February 10, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is noted for his satire, satirical depictions of contemporary American society. Payne has received List of awards and nominations rec ...

(2015), Christian Petzold and Bahman Ghobadi (both 2016),

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola ( , ; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola, won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Lion, and a Can ...

(2017), Lucrecia Martel (2018),

Bong Joon Ho Bong Joon Ho (, ; born September 14, 1969) is a South Korean filmmaker. Bong Joon Ho filmography, His work is characterized by emphasis on social and class themes, genre fiction, genre-mixing, black comedy, dark comedy, and sudden tone shifts. ...

and Mads Brügger (both 2019).

The CineMerit Award

The festival screens a selection of films in honor of the recipient, an outstanding personality in the international film community who has made extraordinary contributions to motion pictures as an art form. Previous recipients have included

John Malkovich John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and ...

William Friedkin William David Friedkin (; August 29, 1935 – August 7, 2023) was an American film, television and opera director, producer, and screenwriter who was closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in doc ...

, D.A. Pennebaker,

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actor. With a career spanning over five decades, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...

Jules Dassin Julius "Jules" Dassin ( ; December 18, 1911 – March 31, 2008) was an American film and theatre director, producer, writer and actor. A subject of the Hollywood blacklist, he subsequently moved to France, and later Greece, where he continued hi ...

Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. Born in Manhattan to actress Tippi Hedren, she was raised mainly in Los Angeles, where she graduated from the Hollywood Professional School at age 16. In 1975, 17-year-old ...

and

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

, Isabelle Huppert and

Udo Kier Udo Kierspe (born 14 October 1944), known professionally as Udo Kier, is a German actor. Known primarily as a character actor, he has appeared in more than 220 films in both leading and supporting roles throughout Europe and the Americas. He has ...

Jean-Jacques Annaud Jean-Jacques Annaud (; born 1 October 1943) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed ''Quest for Fire (film), Quest for Fire'' (1981), ''The Name of the Rose (film), The Name of the Rose'' (1986), ''The Bear (1988 film), ...

and

Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupil at an English public scho ...

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy A ...

and

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor. After taking minor roles in television, he established himself as a leading actor in both comedic and dramatic Bryan Cranston filmography, works on stage and screen. He has received ...

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...

and

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...

, as well as

Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received numerous accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award ...

and

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ralph Fiennes, various accolades, including a British Academy Film ...

Tributes

Specials that, for reasons of current interest, honor a particular filmmaker or artist with a selection of films. Recent tributes:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema moveme ...

, Julie Delpy, Nicolas Winding Refn, Willy Bogner and Philip Gröning.

The Kinderfilmfest

Since 1983, Filmfest München has screened the new feature films and shorts for kids (ages 4 and up) from around the world. Films that are enriching as well as entertaining. The children have the opportunity to vote for their favorite film to win the ''Kinderfilmfest Audience Award''.

Open Air

Festival atmosphere without tickets every night on the piazza of the festival center Gasteig. Every year a different theme. Former topics include: Cats, Masters of Disaster, Pirates, Rock ‘N’ Roll, Surfing, Dance, Las Vegas, Jazz, Skate films. Screenings are open to the public and free of charge.

Awards

Source:

The Filmfest München awards the following prizes (worth roughly €250,000): * The ARRI/OSRAM Award (services from ARRI and OSRAM worth €50,000) goes to the Best Film (non-German language). It has been awarded by

since 2008 and by OSRAM since 2013. * The CineMerit Award (established in 1997) honors outstanding personalities in the international film community for extraordinary contributions to motion pictures as an art form. * The CineVision Award and €12 000 go to the Best Film by an Emerging Director. It is intended to support upcoming directors and provide them with exposure in Germany. The winner is selected from the CineVision section of the program and is endowed by Wild Bunch. * The CineVision Award goes to the best international co-production involving German co-producers. * The German Cinema New Talent Awards are donated by the DZ Bank, Bavaria Film and Bavarian Broadcasting. The prizes go to the best director, best producer, best screenwriter, and best actor and actress in narrative films in the festival's New German Cinema section. * The Bernd Burgemeister TV Movie Award (previously the VFF TV Movie Award) is awarded by the VFF, the German Film & TV Producers' royalty co. VFF to the producer of the Best German TV Movie in the festival program. €25,000 purse. * The Bayern 2 and SZ Audience Award has been presented by the

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest and most influential daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of ''SZ'' is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and ...

and radio station Bayern 2 since 2004. Filmfest audiences pick the winner. * The Kinderfilmfest Audience Award: The children in the audiences vote for their favorite film. * The One Future Prize (presented since 1986 and endowed by the Interfilm Akademie, München) goes to the film that shows, ethically as well as aesthetically, that our world has one common future. * The Fritz Gerlich Preis is donated by the Munich-based production company Tellux and goes to a feature film or documentary that courageously deals with a topic of public concern, reflecting Fritz Gerlich's commitment to human rights. Gerlich was a journalist who openly opposed

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and was executed in 1934. €10,000 prize money. * The

Fipresci The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the wor ...

Preis goes to the best film in the section New German Cinema. Prizes awarded to films other than those in the Filmfest München program: * The Bernhard Wicki Film Prize – The Bridge has been awarded by the Bernhard Wicki Memorial Fund since 2002 and goes to film artists whose work builds bridges and inspires tolerance and humanitarianism. €10,000 prize money. * The Children's Media Prize White Elephant is awarded by the Munich Media Club to outstanding children's films which foster positive development. Since 2002 at Filmfest München. * The 13th Street Shocking Short is a short film award presented annually by

NBC Universal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is a subsidiary of Comcast and headquartered at 30 ...

pay-tv Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...

channel '' 13th Street''. The winner receives a backstage pass to

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. * The Treatment Competition for Documentaries is held by Bavarian Broadcasting and Global Screen GmbH München and serves to foster young documentary filmmakers and support documentary filmmaking in Germany and German-speaking countries in Europe. Three projects are awarded prizes worth €5,000, €3,000 and €2,000 (until 2014). * The Look & Listen – Telepool-BR-Music-Award is endowed by Telepool, a subsidiary of Bayerischer Rundfunk. The award honors the music of an internationally acclaimed film music composer and is accompanied by a cash prize of €10,000 (until 2014). * The Choreographic Captures-Award went to the best 60 second choreographic clip. * The FFF Talent Award for Film Journalism is presented to a student from the German School of Journalism in Munich. * The FIPRESCI Award by the international film critics’ association was presented for the first time in 2015 and honors the best film in the New German Cinema section.

Quotes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Filmfest Munchen 1983 establishments in West Germany Film festivals established in 1983 Film festivals in Germany Festivals in Munich