Exclusive: German Films, the agency that promotes German cinema globally, has revealed the seven participants in its annual Face to Face campaign, which includes talents who have worked on projects such as unconventional, We are the children from the Bahnhof Zoo and Tides.
This year, which marks the tenth anniversary of the Face to Face initiative, will see German Films introduce seven rising talents from the German film and television industry to the international film community at the Berlin Film Festival next month. This initiative has long been considered an important platform to showcase German talent in the fields of film and television on a broader scale.
This year’s selections include actors Aaron Altaras, Leah Drenda, and Thea Eyre, writer-directors Leonie Krippendorff, and Mariko Minoguchi, as well as director Mala Reinhart. and director of photography, Tim Cone.
They follow in the footsteps of filmmakers and stars Sandra Höller, Christian Friedel, Burhan Ghorbani, Saskia Rosendahl, Alexander Fehling, Julia Jentsch, Jonas Nye, Janice Neuhner, Sarah Fadilat, Solenn Youssef, and Eva Trubisch, who were all part of the film. The campaign since its launch in 2016.
This year’s campaign will kick off with a virtual Deadline event on February 5, where Deadline will convene 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 participate in a panel discussion organized by German Films during the Berlin Film Festival on February 17.
German actor Altaras began his acting career with the role of V No need to worry about death Before starring in the international Netflix hit unconventionalin which he played a music student who shows modern Berlin to an Orthodox Jewish woman searching for freedom. Other credits include Disney+ series Interpreter of silence, The night is between us The award-winning show series was in Cannes Zweifler diesFor which he won the German Television Award and the Blue Panther Award in the “Best Actor” category. His next films will be… Why me? and Delirium.
Drinda became known to a wider audience in 2021 with her first major role in the drama-romance film We are the children from the Bahnhof Zoo. She was nominated for the German Acting Award (Best Newcomer) in the same year. She received many awards for her role in the series Become CharlieIn which she played the first non-binary character on German television. She has had other roles in projects such as Nachts in Paradieswhich was released on Canal+, City of blood For Disney+ and Where is Wanda? For Apple TV+.
Austrian actress Ehri got the first role in the 2018 TV series Forstadfiber. In 2022, she stars as Leni Malinowski, a transgender woman navigating a complex world of love and investigations in Christoph Hochhausler’s genre thriller. Until the end of the night. She received the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance at the 2023 Berlinale for her performance. Iyer actively advocates for the representation of transgender individuals, both in her public persona and through her work in film and theater. She can next be seen in the Tom Tykwer film a lightWhich opens the Berlin Film Festival next month.
Minoguchi’s first feature film Relativity It won the German Film Critics’ Prize for Best Debut Film and Best Screenplay, among others. She and director Tim Fehlbaum wrote the screenplay for his film Tideswhich premiered at the Berlinale while also reaching number one on the US Netflix chart. Other credits include Verbrechen oil And the next feature film He dies last time. She is a partner in the Munich-based production company Trimafilm.
Cohn’s credits include serials HindavingWhich won the Rummy Award in the Best Television Series category, as well Tie and LodenWhich won the German Camera Award. He also shot Happy holidays With Oscar-nominated Palestinian director Iskandar Copti, they worked on the film adaptation of the best-selling novel 22 fain.
Reinhart’s documentary Second attack It premiered at DOK Leipzig in 2018 as part of the German competition, where it received an honorable mention. The film was later screened at the Berlin Film Festival in 2021. Last year, she directed and produced her own feature documentary. Familiar places Which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival. She is currently researching for her next project Mother/tongueIt is a hybrid film that explores the complex connections between language, migration and colonial policy.
Graduation film by director and author Krippendorf Rings It was shortlisted for the 2019 German Film Prize and nominated at the Guadalajara International Film Festival, for the Jupiter Prize and the Max Ophuls Prize, among others. Her second feature film cocoon It was selected as the opening film of the Generation 14plus competition at the Berlinale 2020. In 2021, she directed and co-wrote a German miniseries. Her love About lesbian love. She recently wrapped filming for a feature film Exfoliated skinwhich will be released in 2025.
“We have a vibrant and diverse film scene in Germany,” said German film director Simone Baumann. “This diversity and creativity naturally flourishes in filmmakers. We have talents in all different professions who are always coming up with new ideas, being curious, and constantly rethinking and redesigning the medium of film and film. At German Films, we see it as our duty to support these talents from the German film industry.” And accompany them on their path to becoming successful filmmakers. We are proud to be able to introduce seven filmmakers as ambassadors for our campaign this year, who represent a symbol of innovation in the film industry.