Lara Milena Brose's debut feature documentary won Best Documentary at its January 2024 world premiere at Germany's prestigious Max Ophüls Prize festival. The 70-minute film examines the plight of Afghan refugees stranded at the Bosnia-Croatia border—one of the EU's external frontiers—following the Taliban's 2021 return to power. Through intimate portraits of a teenage Afghan refugee and an elderly Bosnian woman haunted by Yugoslavia's wartime trauma, the film draws powerful parallels between generations of displacement.

Our partner Canger Films Distribution is bringing ECHOES FROM BORDERLAND to german cinemas starting january 22nd. We are aiming for school screenings together with Visionen Kino who has placed a film tip. 

More information on the upcoming distribution.

More Information about school screenings here.

Our industry association PROG - Producers of Germany clearly supports the investment obligation for streamers in Germany. Why this is important is explained here by actor Calle Fuhr. We also believe: Only companies that are not on the brink of insolvency can invest in bold films.

See press release here

After a very successful festival tour, IN THE END WE'RE ALL MUSIC is broadcasted on Swiss Radio and Television SRF. SRF presents short films on a regular basis in their second programme and on their media library.

Watch now exclusively in Switzerland (LINK)

Natalia Mamaj and Lili-Rose Pongratz have won the Main Award for Best Cinematography at ZSIGMOND VILMOS INTERNATIONAL FILMFESTIVAL in Hungary for their work on ECHOES FROM BORDERLAND. We congratulate the two DOPs for their outstanding work!

More Information here [LINK]

The spring conference of PROG - PRODUCERS OF GERMANY, the German producers association in Magdeburg, was filled with interesting discussions surrounding the new German film funding laws. We wish everybody a great start to the year despite the current uncertainties.

After five years of intensive association work, the Produzent*innenverband has rebranded itself with a new name and a fresh identity. We are now called PROG, standing for "Producers of Germany." This change reflects our commitment to our work: our films and co-productions that are showcased in cinemas and at international festivals. We are the independent producers who love films and are reinventing series. PROG represents a fusion of experienced and emerging producers who complement and enrich each other. Together, we work for the film landscape, whether it's series, television films, or cinema productions—independent and self-determined.​ PROG stands for progressive and professional.

With PROG Producers of Germany, we unite a community of producers who support each other and advocate for shared values and policies.

See press release here [LINK]

Foto: Matthias Sasse

Our short film IN THE END WE'RE ALL MUSIC won the PRIX EUROPA in the category Student Award - Rising Star VIDEO. We are honored to part of this European initiative and congratulate the other winning teams.

PRIX EUROPA was founded by the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Cultural Foundation in 1987. Today it has grown into a most influential pan- European broadcasting festival holding up broadcasting quality throughout a changing continent, whilst strengthening the fellowship of all Europeans and hearing a multiplicity of voices that reflect the diversity of Europe.

PRIX EUROPA is supported by a strong Alliance of European public broadcasters and has found its permanent home with the host Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg (rbb) in Berlin & Potsdam since 1997. Since 2017 PRIX EUROPA enjoys the Patronage of the European Parliament.

See all winners here. [LINK]

In the End We're All Music has been selected for the official selection for 19th Sapporo International Short Film Festival & Market. It is upcoming in Oct.

The Sapporo International Short Film Festival continues to attract around 3000 entries per year across all genres cementing its reputation as one of Japan's largest and most respected showcases of short form cinema. The festival offers one of the best opportunities available for filmmakers looking to expose their creative works to large audiences and to submit for appraisal by high profile international jury members in the heart of the burgeoning Asian transnational film scene.

We are so happy to be part of it! 

See all selected films from around the globe here. [LINK]

The documentary feature ECHOES FROM BOARDERLAND by students of the University of Television and Film Munich (HFF) won the Young C. Award at the CIVIS Media Prize 2024. For over 30 years, the CIVIS Media Prize has honoured the best programme achievements in television, radio, internet and cinema on the topics of migration, integration, cultural diversity and - related to this - social cohesion in Europe. 

ECHOES FROM BOARDERLAND is a team effort by HFF students Lara Milena Brose (director, screenplay, editing, production), Lilly Rose Pongratz, Natalia Mamaj (both cinematography), Boris Gavrilović (editing) and Hanna Hocker (sound), among others. 

The jury statement read: "A documentary essay that provides deep  insights into the situation on the Bosnian-Croatian border. A respectful visual language with poetic moments conveys the events sensitively, but without intrusive dramatisation.’

The film is represented by Sommer Slatter Film. If you are interested to learn more, please contact producers@sommer-slatter.com

The pitch competition DOK.talent Award offers students from the partner universities of DOK.fest München the opportunity to present their current projects to industry experts and receive valuable feedback. The most convincing project receives the award, which is donated by ndF Entertainment GmbH and endowed with 2,500 euros in research funding. This year, the twelve-member jury honoured to the project POLITIK IST PERSÖNLICH by Indira Geisel (HFF München) produced by Thomas Slatter and Felix Sommer.

Thank you very much to the Jury, the Team of the DOK.Forum under the leadership of Flora Roever, Susana Fernandez and Alina Götzlich and to René Carl and Clarissa Eysell from ndF for sponsoring the price.

From the jury's statement: (...) In a very close decision, the jury decided for a project in which the filmmaker portrays three generations of her own family – in which, as she says, “campaigning is a family affair“. Let it be known: POLITIK IST PERSÖNLICH, a film that engages with ambivalence, allows for critical distance and, on a personal level, seeks its own fresh perspective, is the well deserved winner. We congratulate Indira Geisel and her team on winning the DOK.talent Award 2024.

The twelve jurors were Katharina Bergfeld (Producer, Ma.ja.de), Petra Felber (Commissioning Editor, BR), Brigitte Hofer (Producer, Maximage), Peter Jaeger (Consultant, Jaeger Creative), Jutta Krug (Commissioning Editor, WDR), Esther van Messel (CEO, First Hand Films), Gülseren Ölcüm (Format Developer, ZDF), Julia Peters (Distributor, JIP Filmverleih), Ira Tondowski (Producer, Tondowski Films), Marcus Vetter (Commissioning Editor, SWR), Sven Wälti (Commissioning Editor, SRG SSR) and Jakob Zimmermann (Commissioning Editor, ZDF Das kleine Fernsehspiel).

DOK.forum München Pressrelease (LINK)