18/06/2024 - Aiming to return to its roots, the German gathering will feature 150 film premieres, a handful of competition sections and the return of the €100,000 CineCoPro Award

The Munich International Film Festival is the premier platform for German filmmaking. Its 41st edition, running from 28 June-7 July, will feature the premieres of 150 films from 53 countries, with a substantial number of guests in attendance. Films competing for the new CineWaves Award trophies in both the international and national competitions will be screened at 12 venues. This year also marks the return of the €100,000 CineCoPro Award, Germany’s most valuable co-production prize, after a four-year hiatus.

The 150 feature-length fiction and documentary films explore a wide range of human and societal themes. Approximately 40% of these movies are directed by women. All are being screened in Germany for the first time, with 62 productions celebrating their international, world or European premieres in Munich. Christoph Gröner, festival director, and Julia Weigl, artistic co-director, commented: “We’re taking the festival back to its roots by presenting genuine finds alongside star-studded cinema, but are doing this in new, grand and great locations. The return of the CineCoPro Competition makes the festival more complete, and CineYou, our laboratory for young audiences, finally gives us an avenue for making young people from Munich an active part of the festival.”

In the CineMasters Competition, featuring the best international films, a total of 14 titles are being showcased. Some recent highlights include The Substance [+see also:
film review
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interview: Coralie Fargeat
film profile] by Coralie Fargeat (UK/USA/France), Kinds of Kindness [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Yorgos Lanthimos (Ireland/UK/USA), Sujo [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez (Mexico/Spain/France), When the Light Breaks [+see also:
film review
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interview: Elín Hall
interview: Rúnar Rúnarsson
film profile] by Rúnar Rúnarsson (Iceland/Netherlands/Croatia/France), and All We Imagine as Light [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Payal Kapadia (France/India/Netherlands/Luxembourg/Italy), the Grand Prix winner in the latest Cannes competition. The entire selection can be found here. The jury, which will decide on the main award, worth €50,000 and sponsored by ARRI, consists of actress Marie-Lou Sellem, Moritz Peters (director of marketing and acquisitions at Plaion Pictures) and Rajendra Roy (chief curator of film at the Museum of Modern Art, New York).

Ten films are competing for the CineCoPro Award, which comes with a prize of €100,000, sponsored by FFF Bayern. Recent entries include Rumours [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson (Germany/Canada); Samia [+see also:
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interview: Yasemin Şamdereli, Deka Moh…
film profile] by Yasemin Şamdereli (Italy/Germany/Belgium/Sweden); Motel Destino [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Karim Aïnouz (Brazil/Germany/France); Poison [+see also:
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interview: Désirée Nosbusch
film profile] by Désirée Nosbusch (Germany/Luxembourg/Netherlands/UK), which will have its world premiere; The Village Next to Paradise [+see also:
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film profile] by Mo Harawe (Austria/France/Germany/Somalia); and To a Land Unknown [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mahdi Fleifel
film profile] by Mahdi Fleifel (UK/France/Germany/Greece/Netherlands/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Palestine). The complete selection can be found here. The three-member jury includes writer-director Baran bo Odar, actress Leonie Benesch and executive producer Sol Bondy.

Other highlights include Continent by Davi Pretto (Brazil/France/Argentina), a horror-drama celebrating its world premiere at Munich, and Xoftex [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Noaz Deshe
film profile] by Noaz Deshe (Germany/France), which will have a joint world premiere with the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Adding to the diversity of German films are the star-studded comedies Everything’s Fifty Fifty by Alireza Golafshan and Blame the Game by Marco Petry, as well as the music documentary Born to Be Wild: The Story of Steppenwolf by Oliver Schwehm (Germany/Canada). Tatami [+see also:
film review
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film profile] (Georgia/USA), the first feature co-directed by an Iranian and an Israeli, Zar Amir and Guy Nattiv, respectively, is also featured. The festival will conclude with Touch [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Baltasar Kormákur (Iceland/UK), a story of love and remembrance.

This year, the Munich International Film Festival will have the privilege of presenting two CineMerit Awards. Oscar-winning legend Jessica Lange will be one of the recipients. Additionally, her exhibition, "Through Her Lens: Photographs by Jessica Lange", featuring black-and-white snaps taken during lockdown in New York, will be showcased at the Deutsches Theatermuseum. The other CineMerit Award will go to multi-award-winning actress Kate Winslet for her contributions to the art of film. Winslet will also present the European premiere of her film Lee, in which she stars and serves as a producer.

One initiative starting this year is Deutsches Theater Meets the Munich International Film Festival. The “An Evening With...” event series sets the stage for exclusive film screenings, inspiring talks and one-of-a-kind CineMerit Award ceremonies – with Jessica Lange, Kate Winslet, Natja Brunckhorst’s Two to One [+see also:
interview: Natja Brunckhorst
film profile] and Checker Tobi. Furthermore, on 3 July, the Münchner Kammerspiele and the Munich International Film Festival will present the world premiere of the science-fiction flick Planet Magnon, after Luis August Krawen and the cast transformed the eponymous novel by Leif Randt into a theatrical feature film.