EXCLUSIVE: German Films, the agency that promotes German cinema globally, has revealed the seven participants for its annual Face to Face campaign, which include talents who have worked on projects such asUnorthodox,We Children From Bahnhof ZooandTides.
This year, which marks the 10th anniversary of the Face to Face initiative, will see German Films introduce seven burgeoning talents from the German film and TV industry to the international film community at the Berlin Film Festival next month. The initiative has long been considered a significant platform for showcasing German talents to the wider film and television spheres.
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This year’s selection includes actors Aaron Altaras, Lea Drinda and Thea Ehre, writer-directors Leonie Krippendorff and Mariko Minoguchi, as well as director Mala Reinhardtand Director of Photography Tim Kuhn.
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They are following in the footsteps of filmmakers and stars Sandra Hüller, Christian Friedel, Burhan Qurbani, Saskia Rosendahl, Alexander Fehling, Julia Jentsch, Jonas Nay, Jannis Niewöhner, Sara Fazilat, Soleen Yusef and Eva Trobisch, who have all been part of the campaign since it launched in 2016.
This year’s campaign will kick off with a Deadline Virtual Event on February 5, where Deadline sits down with four of the participants – Altaras, Ehre, Reinhardt and Krippendorff – to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the German film and television industries today.
The seven talents will then take part at a panel event organized by German Films during the Berlin Film Festival on February 17.
German actor Altaras began his acting career with a role inNicht alle waren Mörderbefore starring Netflix’s international hitUnorthodox, in which he played a music student who shows modern Berlin to an orthodox Jewish woman searching for freedom. Further credits include Disney+ seriesThe Interpreter of Silence,The Night Between Usand Cannes Series Award-winning showDie Zweiflers, for which he won the German Television Award and the Blue Panther in the “Best Actor” category. His next films will be Why MeandRave.
Drinda became known to a wider audience in 2021 with her first major role inWe Children From Bahnhof Zoo.She was nominated for the German Acting Award (Best Newcomer) in the same year. She received several awards for her role in the seriesBecoming Charlie, in which she played the first non-binary character on German television. She’s had further roles in projects such asNachts im Paradies, which was released on Canal+,City of Bloodfor Disney+ andWhere is Wanda?for Apple TV+.
Austrian actress Ehre landed first role in the 2018 television seriesVorstadtweiber. In 2022, she portrayed Leni Malinowski, a transgender woman navigating a complex world of love and investigations in Christoph Hochhäusler’s genre thrillerTill the End of the Night. She received the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance at the 2023 Berlinale for her performance. Ehre actively advocates for the representation of transgender individuals, both in her public persona and through her work in film and theatre. She can next be seen in Tom Tykwer’s Light, which opens the Berlin Film Festival next month.
Minoguchi’s feature film debutRelativityreceived the German Film Critics’ Award for Best Debut Film and Best Screenplay, among others. Together with director Tim Fehlbaum, she wrote the screenplay for his filmTides, which premiered in Berlinale while also reaching number one in the U.S. Netflix chart. Further credits includeZeit Verbrechenand upcoming feature filmDie AndereSeite. She’s a partner at theMunich-based production company Trimafilm.
Kuhn’s credits include seriesHindafing, which won the Romy Award in the Best TV Series category, as well asBreaking EvenandLuden, for which he received the German Camera Award. He also shotHappy Holidayswith Oscar-nominated Palestinian director Scandar Copti and worked on the film adaptation of the bestselling novel22 Bahnen.
Reinhardt’s documentaryThe Second Attackpremiered at DOK Leipzig in 2018 as part of the German Competition, where it earned an honorable mention. It later featured at the Berlin Film Festival in 2021. Last year, she directed and produced her feature-length docFamiliar Placeswhich premiered at the Locarno Film Festival. She is currently researching for her next projectMother/Tongue, a hybrid film that will explore the intricate connections between language, migration and colonial politics.
Director and author Krippendorff’s graduation filmLoopingwas shown at various international film festivals, including the Guadalajara International Film Festival where it was awarded a prize. Her feature debut Cocoon premiered as the opening film of the Generation 14+ section at the Berlinale 2020. Cocoon received numerous awards while Krippendorff also received the Bavarian Film Award for Best Emerging Director. She recently wrapped shooting feature filmPeeled Skin, which will be released in 2025
“We have a vibrant and diverse film scene in Germany,” said German Films MD Simone Baumann. “This diversity and creativity naturally thrives on its filmmakers. We have talents in all the different trades who are always coming up with new ideas, who are curious, who are constantly rethinking and redesigning the medium of film and cinema. At German Films, we see it as our duty to support these talents from the German film industry and to accompany them on their way to becoming successful filmmakers. We are proud to be able to present seven filmmakers as ambassadors for our campaign this year, who are emblematic of innovation in the film industry.”