Twenty German films will world premiere in the New German Cinema and Spotlight sections of the 42nd Munich International Film Festival, which runs from June 27-July 6.
The new German Cinema competition section will include 16 world premieres, with another four in the Spotlight section.
The films range from offbeat comedies such as Ganzer halber Bruder and Zweigstelle, to dramas such as Sechswochenamt, thriller such as Brick and ensemble films such as #blacksheep and Mädchen Mädchen.
“The German films at the Munich International Film Festival reflect the times we’re in: a lot of people are caught up in exceptional circumstances,” said Christoph Gröner, Julia Weigl, and Urs Spörri, the curators of New German Cinema.
”We’re showcasing the many facets of German cinema, from dramas involving elements of horror to dark comedies to vibrant satires.”
Co-production focus
Meanwhile, the festival’s CineCoPro Conference – which promotes co-productions that involve German participants – will focus on Austria, Switzerland and South Tyrol. Case studies, panel discussions, and a pitching session are part of the programme.
Its companion CineCoPro Award, which comes with €100,000 in prize money, will include the world premieres of two co-productions: I’m Not Stiller, directed by Stefan Haupt, and A Land Within, directed by Michael Kofler. Twelve films will compete in total, with the full line-up announced on June 18.
I’m Not Stiller is based on the novel by Max Frisch. It is a co-production by C-Films AG (Anne Walser) and Walker+Worm Film (Philipp Worm, Tobias Walker), in collaboration with Studiocanal, SRF, BR, arte, and other partners. It’s a story of an American who is taken to be a sculptor from Switzerland who has disappeared, raising existential questions about identity and self-perception.
Family drama A Land Within is set against the backdrop of political unrest in the 1960s. It tells the story of a young artist who escapes the confining atmosphere of his native South Tyrol and enrolls at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. It is a co-production of Starhaus Filmproduktion (Munich), Helios Sustainable Films (Bolzano), and KGP Filmproduktion (Vienna).
The full schedule of the festival will be announced on June 18.
New German Cinema 2025
Sechswochenamt, dir Jacqueline Jansen
Karla, dir. Christina Tournatzés
Born to Fake, dirs. Erec Brehmer and Benjamin Rost
Missing Link, dir. Michael Baumann
Kreator – Hate & Hope, dir. Cordula Kablitz-Post
Rave On, dir. Nikias Chryssos and Viktor Jakovleski
Bernd – Operation Germanenkind, dir. Cornelius Schwalm
On The Road In The Name Of The Empress, dir. Jovana Reisinger
Holy Meat, dir. Alison Kuhn
Home Entertainment, dir. Dietrich Brüggemann
Zweigstelle, dir. Julius Grimm
Thanks for Nothing, dir. Stella Marie Markert
Bubbles, dir. Sebastian Husak
#blacksheep, dir. Oliver Rihs
All That’s Due, dir. Franz Müller
Mädchen Mädchen, dir. Martina Plura
Spotlight
Ganzer halber Bruder, dir. Hanno Olderdissen
Brick, dir. Philip Koch
The Klimperclown, dir. Helge Schneider
Ausgsting, dir. Julian Wittmann
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