German Talents From ‘Deutschland ’89’, ‘Kafka’ & ‘Turning Tables’ Among Those Selected For German Films’ Face To Face Campaign

EXCLUSIVE: German Films, the agency that promotes German cinema globally, has unveiled the seven participants for the ninth edition of its annual Face to Face campaign, which include talents who have worked on projects ranging from television series such as Deutschland ‘89 and Kafka to feature film Turning Tables. 

This year’s edition, which is dubbed Face to Face with German Films – The Filmmakers, will showcase seven filmmakers who have made a lasting impact on the German film industry with their creative and artistic work. The initiative is considered a prominent platform for showcasing German talent to the international film and television worlds. 

The participants this year are: actor Jan Bülow; writer and director Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay; actor Banafshe Hourmazdi; writer-director Moritz Müller-Preißer; production designer Mona Cathleen Otterbach; writer-director Eva Trobisch; and writer-director Soleen Yusef.

They are following in the footsteps of such respected filmmakers as internationally renowned stars Sandra Hüller, Christian Friedel, Burhan Qurbani, Saskia Rosendahl, Alexander Fehling, Julia Jentsch, Jonas Nay, Jannis Niewöhner or Sara Fazilat, who have all been part of the campaign since it launched in 2016.

The campaign will kick off with a Deadine Virtual Event on February 8, where Deadline sits down with four of the talents – Bülow, Müller-Preißer, Hourmazdi and Yusef – to discuss a wide range of challenges and opportunities facing the German film and television industries today. 

The seven talents will then take part at a panel event organized by German Films during the Berlin Film Festival on February 19.

“We at German Films see it as our task to support upcoming talents from the German film industry and to accompany them on their way to becoming successful filmmakers,” said Simone Baumann, Managing Director of German Films. “It is particularly important to us to show that the film industry is incredibly diverse and that we have fantastic talents in a wide variety of trades here in Germany. We are proud to present seven filmmakers as ambassadors for our campaign this year, whose diverse CVs and professional backgrounds symbolize creativity in the film industry.”