Matthias Helwig has already had many a steamboat trip. But he remembers one particularly fondly: summer 2013, the ship chugs across Lake Starnberg towards sunset, white wine is served with the film. On board: a journalist from the Time, who then writes in her article that she briefly asked herself on the ship why she actually had to go to the Cannes Film Festival. All of this also exists in Starnberg.
For Helwig, director of the Fünfseen Film Festival, this says everything about the importance of the event. And yes, the facts prove him right: every year more than 20,000 visitors come over the ten days and around 130 films are shown. In addition, numerous celebrities find their way to the Fünfseenland: Sandra Hülser, Paula Beer, Margarethe von Trotta, to name just a few of the names. This makes the film festival one of the largest of its kind in the German-speaking region.
The thing is: ever since the steamboat trip with the… Time-Journalist, a lot has changed. And so on Tuesday evening, Helwig not only reminisced in his wide-screen cinema in Gauting, but also brought a clear message with him: A lot has to change for the coming year – otherwise this year’s edition at the beginning of September could be the last edition of the Fünfseen Film Festival. “It has no future in this way,” says Helwig in the well-filled cinema in conversation with presenter Thomas Lochte. This evening will be about structures behind the scenes, about appreciation and the importance of culture in politics and society. And because these terms are usually used in connection with funding, money will also play a role.
You have to know that since the first film festival in 2006, Helwig and his team have been solely responsible for organization and financing. The financial liability risk lies with Helwig as a private individual. Above all, he and his people have to raise the funds for it. There are subsidies from the public sector, from the district, the state and the municipalities.
But the city of Starnberg and the municipality of Gauting have reduced their subsidies for this year by a total of around 30,000 euros due to empty coffers. As a result, there may no longer be a young talent award this year. And: The opening ceremony will no longer take place on the lakeshore, but in the Schlossberghalle. And the steamboat trip, which thrilled not only journalists but also the audience and the actors who had traveled there, falls flat. As a result, “the festival loses its appeal,” Helwig explained in an SZ interview in March.
For Helwig, there is also a message linked to the resolutions: cultural events like the film festival are only politically wanted as long as private individuals take care of them and the funds are there for subsidies. If money is tight, the first thing to save on is culture. This is possible because cultural funding in the municipal budget is considered a voluntary service – not a compulsory program, but rather a free choice, so to speak. And that is exactly where the problem lies for Helwig.
In order to make events of national importance such as the Five Lakes Film Festival possible in the future, this must change. “We have to get out of voluntary services,” says Helwig. Instead, according to the festival director, a certain percentage of the budget must be earmarked for culture. Even one percent of the annual budget volume is more than the previous funding amount.
Helwig is of the opinion: “A festival is an economic factor.”
Not only cultural organizers, but also sports clubs and social associations could claim this regulation. Because they also only benefit from voluntary subsidies. In the case of his film festival, however, Helwig brings up another argument: the economic effect on the region. Actors and visitors don’t just come to Starnberg to see a film: they also eat, drink and spend the night here. Local restaurateurs and business people would benefit enormously from this, explains Helwig. “A festival is an economic factor,” he clarifies.
In addition to financial issues, Helwig sees a need for action in terms of structures. He is now 64 years old and he cannot and does not want to take on the responsibility for too long. “I don’t want to do this alone anymore,” he says. He has in mind to hire an artistic director in his place and, ideally, someone else for the business side and to turn the film festival into a society or club. This would mean Helwig would be free of the financial risk – and a large part of the work. But: If you hire someone, you also have to pay them.
That’s why Helwig is committed to recruiting private individuals who are committed to the future of his film festival. A circle of friends would be a conceivable option for him, volunteers who donate. And maybe even help out when there’s work to do. “I need people who would be willing to help shape this,” says Helwig. There certainly seems to be a willingness for this: on Tuesday at the cinema, a few people spontaneously stand up and declare that they want to take part.
What will happen to this idea? How do political decision-makers react to Helwig’s demands? Will the film festival take place next year? And if it takes place, in what form? Where will culture develop if the state withdraws more and more from financing? Helwig and his audience on Tuesday have no conclusive answers to these big questions. One thing is clear: the future of the festival will be decided in the coming months. Then it will be clear whether and when a steamer will chug across the lake again and enchant its passengers on film.