German films quarterly 2. 2014 [antikvár]

FILM HIGH ON THE AGENDAAn interview with the new German State Minister for Culture and the Media, Monika GruttersWhat role will film play in your remit?Film has a very prominent place in my diverse range of responsibilities. Films are an integral part of our cultural history and present, they influence our perception of reality to a large degree in a world which is dominated by the media. We are facing important changes in this field. Therefore, we must soon begin preparing another amendment to the German Film Law (FFG). The protection of film heritage is also a major challenge. The German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) is to have its time limit removed. We want to strengthen the children's film sector and preserve the cinema landscape. These are just a few of the plans. So, you can see that film will be certainly really high up on my agenda.Where do you see the key areas and challenges that the German film and television industry will have to face in the future?The issue of the digitization of the cinemas will continue to occupy me and the film industry. Thanks to the funding pro-grams from my ministry and the German Federal Film Board (FFA), many smaller cinemas have managed to make the leap into the digital age. We now also want to try and support the digitization for those cinemas who play a particular role in their region as a cultural venue, but weren't able to fulfil the minimum funding criteria previously.The German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) is naturally also of particular importance for the German film industry. Therefore, it is |especially important for me that we remove the time limit for the DFFF. That's what it says in the Coalition Agreement - this would be an important signal for the German film industry and provide the producers with greater planning security.The German Film Law (FFG) will also remain a key area. The Federal Constitutional Court had already set the course to be taken with the judgment made this January. In its path-breaking decision, the Court endorsed the FFG across the board, in particular, the levy system embodied in the law. according to which the exploiters of feature films finance the FFG funding by theGFQ 2-20144