The Munich Film Festival will be 40 next year, but there hasn’t been much to celebrate lately: the expansion into an international media festival announced by Markus Söder before the pandemic was canceled and the budget is tight. The anniversary edition will be shortened by one day, which was “a necessary step in the tense financial situation”, the festival announced a few weeks ago.
But there is also good news: Within the framework of the Anniversary Edition (June 23 to July 1, 2023) the Euro Cine Expo will take place in Munich, an international trade fair for cinema technology. According to the film festival, in cooperation with the trade fair and the Film Commission of the Film-Fernseh-Fonds Bayern (FFF), “a space will be created for networking between the specialist guests of both events”. Film technology companies will have the opportunity to present their products to a specialist audience, and a range of seminars is also planned.
Not much will change for the film festival audience who want to see new films and series, who go to interviews with directors or who appreciate meeting stars. Hardly anyone will notice the two-day trade fair on June 30th and July 1st, 2023, especially since it is to take place far away from the festival cinemas on the Motorworld site in Freimann. The Euro Cine Expo is not entirely new in Munich either, it took place here this summer, a little smaller and without any connection to festivals or sponsors.
It remains to be seen what the trade fair will bring and how well the announced cooperation will work. It’s already good news for the film festival: because festivals thrive on networks, on as many connections as possible to creative people, doers and audiences. In addition to the star crowds, there are also film markets in Berlin and Cannes, and there are producer meetings and film-political debates. All of this increases the relevance of the festivals. When a film fair takes place in a city like Munich, which has an excellent reputation when it comes to film technology and where world market leaders like Arri are at home, that’s good. Networking with local industry events makes things even better.