A Slew of New Movies Promise to Light Up Germany’s Gloomy Atmosphere

Germany’s film industry may have been hit hard by the economic slowdown, resulting in an overall gloomy outlook, but it’s still celebrating the biggest number ever of local films and co-productions at this year’s Berlinale and looking forward to a diverse lineup of 2025 releases, among them a number of high-profile sequels.

Compounding the sector’s overall predicament was the collapse of the federal government in December, forcing snap elections scheduled for Feb. 23. The political crisis left an ambitious reform of the country’s federal film funding system only partially implemented and a matter to be tackled by the next government.

The industry nevertheless welcomed the current government’s last-minute extension and increase of two key funding incentives in December that has ensured planning security for producers, studio operators and production service providers.

In the meantime, the local film community is cheering the strong showing of German titles at the Berlin Film Festival. Of the more than 240 titles screening at the event, 66 are German productions or co-productions.

Tom Tykwer is opening this year’s momentous festival with his highly anticipated drama “The Light,” about a Berlin family that undergoes startling changes when a new Syrian housekeeper enters their lives.

The film, which screens out of competition in Berlinale Special Gala, is in part a personal exploration of Tykwer’s own “middle-class generation,” which sees “itself as progressive and cosmopolitan and attempted to pass this on to its children,” the director told German Films Quarterly. “Now we are being successively and ever more cata­strophically confronted by our failures.”

Likewise screening in the Special Gala section is Ido Fluk’s “Köln 75,” the true story of Vera Brandes, a rebellious teenager in 1970s Cologne who risks everything to organize a concert with jazz pianist Keith Jarrett. That concert yielded “The Köln Concert,” which sold an astounding 4 million copies.

Also in the section are Jan-Ole Gerster’s “Islands,” which follows a tennis coach on the island of Fuerteventura whose life is complicated by a guest’s sudden disappearance; and Petra Volpe’s “Late Shift,” about a nurse in an understaffed hospital whose shift turns into a nerve-racking race against time.

Unspooling in competition is Frédéric Hambalek’s “What Marielle Knows,” about a couple who discover that their daughter has suddenly developed telepathic abilities and can see and hear everything they do.

Likewise vying for the Golden Bear is Ameer Fakher Eldin’s “Yunan,” about a troubled Syrian author in Germany who, unable to return to his home country, seeks to end his life on a remote North Sea island, only to find renewed hope.

In Johanna Moder’s “Mother’s Baby,” a family dream becomes a nightmare as 40-year-old Julia struggles to bond with her newborn child.

Constanze Klaue’s “Punching the World,” premiering in the new Perspectives first-feature section, revolves around two brothers whose childhood in rural East Germany is marked by disintegration of family, lack of prospects and ultimately violence.

German-language films in Berlin’s Panorama sidebar include:

Looking beyond Berlin, German pics hitting local cinemas this year include Fatih Akin‘s “Amrum,” starring Diane Kruger. Based on the autobiographical novel of screenwriter Hark Bohm, who also penned the script, the film, set in 1945, follows a 12-year-old boy who lives on the titular North Frisian Island on Germany’s North Sea coast.

Other highlights include Bernhard Wenger’s acclaimed comedy “Peacock,” described by Variety’s Guy Lodge as an “auspiciously polished and snappy debut,” which follows Albrecht Schuch as a young man whose career as a friend-for-hire increasingly complicates his life and relationships.

Among several big-name sequels is Michael Herbig’s “Manitou’s Canoe,” coming 24 years after his massive hit comedy-Western “Manitou’s Shoe.”

Actor-director Karoline Herfurth is back with “Wunderschöner,” a sequel to her 2022 hit “Wunderschön,” again following five women searching for happiness and well-being and rejecting superficial ideals of beauty and desirability.

Also returning is Tom Payne as Rob Cole in Philipp Stölzl’s “The Physician II,” a follow-up to the director’s 2013 adaptation of Noah Gordon’s historical novel.

Marcus H. Rosenmüller follows his 2023 kids film “Neue Geschichten vom Pumuckl” with “Pumuckl und das grosse Missverständnis.” Combining animation and live action, the film continues the adventures of the magical imp Pumuckl.

Taking over directing duties, Bernhard Jasper and Maggie Peren offer “School of Magical Animals 4,” the latest installment in the hugely successful fantasy franchise, while Gregor Schnitzler reboots “Bibi Blocksberg,” based on the popular children’s books about a precocious young witch.

Upcoming family films also include “Momo,” Christian Ditter’s English-language adaptation of the fantasy novel by “The Neverending Story” writer Michael Ende; and Mike Marzuk’s “Ein Mädchen namens Willow,” about a young girl who inherits a magical forest and discovers she’s a witch.

While Germany’s cinematic output remains strong, the local industry finds itself in troubled times.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Produktionsallianz industry association of its member companies, the German film sector is struggling with an extremely difficult economic situation. Of the group’s 375 member companies, 77% rated the current situation as “bad or very bad,” compared to 56% a year earlier. Among production companies working in the area of fiction, 80% reported that the order volume of international streamers had fallen sharply or very sharply since 2022.

The Produktionsallianz nevertheless welcomed the government’s last-minute extension and increase of two key funding incentives, the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) I and II and the German Motion Picture Fund (GMPF), which saw their production cost rebate levels raised from 25% to 30%.

Peter Dinges, CEO of the German Federal Film Fund (FFA), which oversees the DFFF and GMPF, said the increase was “good news for German filmmakers. Until a real subsidy law is introduced, it will help Germany as a film location to better compete internationally for the best conditions for film productions.”

The next government is expected to implement the remaining planned funding measures, a 30% tax incentive and an investment obligation for streamers and broadcasters.

Discussing the impact of regional funding in the states of Berlin and Brandenburg — popular locations for international filmmakers — Kirsten Niehuus, CEO of local funder Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, said 2024 had been a good year, noting that with 5,000 days of shooting, production in the area remained at a high level despite the economic downturn.

“The capital region has come through the crisis year of 2024 in a stable manner and we are delighted about the film industry’s many artistic and economic successes in the area. But even if the Berlin-Brandenburg region is robust as a location, the situation will remain challenging until an internationally competitive funding model is permanently anchored in Germany.”