Filmfest München will once again serve as a vital meeting point for the film industry. On 27 June, the festival will host the Creators Conference, an intensive one-day event co-organised with the German Producers Alliance (Produktionsallianz), aimed at bringing together producers, creatives and decision makers to examine the evolving challenges and emerging opportunities within contemporary filmmaking.

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Taking place at Amerikahaus München, this third edition of the Creators Conference arrives at a time of considerable transition. The programme will feature a dynamic series of lightning talks and panel discussions, addressing pressing industry concerns. Topics on the agenda include the repercussions of newly introduced tariffs on US and European film productions, forward-looking scenarios for the industry amid ongoing digital transformation, and the implications of the “post-peak TV” era. The tension between formula-driven content and genuine innovation will be explored, as will the expanding influence of multi-platform creators active across YouTube, literature, merchandise and cinema.

Other sessions will explore data's growing influence on development and storytelling, the rise of AI-driven business models, and strategies for international co-financing. Particular attention will be paid to the untapped potential of European animation, the economics of tomorrow’s content production, and the structural challenges surrounding equity investment in independent companies. Additional discussions will delve into legal frameworks around compensation in the era of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, Germany’s evolving production landscape under the #Filmreform initiative, and the role of co-creation in keeping storytelling culturally resonant and relevant.

Wiebke Wiesner, acting managing director and legal advisor of the Produktionsallianz, positions the conference as a timely intervention. “The film industry is undergoing creative and economic upheaval. Distribution chains are shifting, budgets are tightening, and audiences are thinking more diversely while consuming more selectively. The Creators Conference is an invitation to discuss how the industry can put itself on a better footing and play an active part in shaping its future – by being innovative, international and resilient.”

Wiesner will open the conference alongside Dr Florian Herrmann, Bavarian Minister of State for Federal Affairs and Media. The event will close with a joint wrap-up session featuring producer and Produktionsallianz board member Laura Machutta and festival director Christoph Gröner, reflecting on key takeaways from the day.

The Creators Conference forms part of the festival’s broader strategy to reinforce its role in fostering international collaboration. Alongside it runs the CineCoPro programme, which includes the €100,000 CineCoPro Award, the most valuable prize available to German co-producers of international projects, supported by FFF Bayern and the Bavarian State Chancellery.

This year’s CineCoPro Conference highlights co-productions with Austria, Switzerland and South Tyrol. Featuring case studies, panel discussions and pitching sessions, the event offers a practical platform for producers to forge new alliances. The 2025 CineCoPro Competition will spotlight world premieres such as I’m Not Stiller, directed by Stefan Haupt and co-written with Alexander Buresch, and A Land Within, written and directed by Michael Kofler.

Artistic directors Christoph Gröner and Julia Weigl underline the festival’s continued commitment to international cooperation: “We are proud of the fact that we’re able to devote nearly half of this year’s CineCoPro Competition to world premieres. This underscores our commitment to international cooperation. Particularly in view of the current global political situation, we believe it is more important than ever to promote dialogue, overcome cultural divides and feature the widest possible range of identities. Stiller and A Land Within are two very political films that reflect this.”

The Creators Conference and the CineCoPro programme demonstrate Filmfest München’s commitment to shaping the future of filmmaking as much as celebrating its present. Positioned at the intersection of cultural exchange and industry foresight, Munich is steadily establishing itself as a central hub where bold ideas, cross-border partnerships and new production models take root, and where the conversations started will continue to resonate well beyond the festival itself.