festivals
Joy and celebration at the Munich Film Festival
The actress Irina Wanka comes to the film festival in the Isarphilharmonie. The festival is showing films from all over the world until July 2nd. Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Many missed the big cinema during the corona pandemic. Now it’s time again for the Munich Film Festival in the Isar metropolis.
In Munich there is a party mood, like every year at the end of June. The Tollwood summer festival has been running for about a week, and the opera festival starts on Friday. And on Thursday evening the Munich Film Festival opened.
At the celebration in the Isarphilharmonie with around 1,500 invited guests, the historical drama “Corsage” with Vicky Krieps as the Austrian Empress Sisi was on the program, which had already caused a stir at the Cannes Film Festival at the end of May.
Bavaria’s Digital Minister Judith Gerlach (CSU) spoke of a sign of hope: “Big cinema – how much we all missed it!”, She said in her speech, according to the announcement. The pandemic in the past two years has hit the film and cinema industry to the heart. “Empty cinemas, financial losses, existential worries,” says Gerlach. “A sad time that, thank God, is now coming to an end.” The Munich Film Festival was also affected. In 2020 there was a complete cancellation, in 2021 the festival took place on a much smaller scale.
Festival director Diana Iljine reminded that after two years of crisis, the industry is still dependent on political support. “My thanks go to our shareholders that, despite difficult times, they consider culture to be important, necessary and not optional,” explained Iljine, referring to shareholders such as the Free State or the City of Munich.
The film festival is showing around 120 films from all over the world until July 2nd, including those by Ukrainian and Russia-critical makers. Prizes are also awarded, such as the honorary Cine-Merit award to Alba Rohrwacher (“Happy as Lazzaro”).