Presents FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS – THE FILMMAKERS

Photo ©2021 German Films/ Marcus Höhn/ The Dream Factory.

German Films, the national information and advisory center for the promotion of German films worldwide is coming back again with its 6th annual signature campaign FACE TO FACE. The highly visible international showcase for the wealth and diversity of talent has shaped the German film and TV industry over the last five years.

While the featured “Faces” of the past years were always taken from one profession –  actors, directors and screenwriters – in its current sixth edition, FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS – THE FILMMAKERS is focusing in 2021 on a wide range of exceptional filmmaking talent across various disciplines, representing a cross-section of the many creative faces of German filmmaking today.

The focus is on personalities with very different biographies and artistic approaches that represent the variety of influences and perspectives of both industry professionals and audiences, in Germany as well as internationally.

Honoring everybody involved in this creative process was also the main driver for German Films’ decision to include a gamut of professions in FACE TO FACE 2021. For the first time, the selection includes a costume designer, a composer, a storyboard artist, and a cinematographer, as well as two directors and two actors.

The FACES for 2021 represent the wealth and diversity of talent in German cinema today. Award winning composer Freya Arde’s work has screened at prestigious international festivals such as the Berlinale and the Toronto International Film Festival. She finished the music for the documentary THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES and released her first EP SPIRIT AWAKE last year. Costume designer Ulé Barcelos’ work was featured in German Oscar® entry 2020, SYSTEM CRASHER and her latest TV feature project HERREN premiered on Arte and in prime time on Germany’s biggest public broadcaster ARD. Director Sarah Blaßkiewitz completed her first feature film PRECIOUS IVIE last year and just finished directing the final season of the successful TV series DRUCK. Actor Tua El-Fawwal’s highly-praised performance as a feminist Muslim boxer wearing the headscarf in the TV series DRUCK landed her the German Acting Award for Best Newcomer last year. Director Annekatrin Hendel’s new feature documentary BANISHED TO PARADISE, the portrait of a blended family living in isolation will premiere on the public broadcaster TV channel RBB, on March 17th, 2021 - exactly one year after the first lockdown in Germany. Actor Lorna Ishema’s remarkable performances can be seen in the TV series BREAKING EVEN and this year, in Sarah Blaßkiewitz’s PRECIOUS IVIE and in another TV series DER ÜBERFALL. Storyboard artist Laila Petersen-Jama has worked on feature films and series such as KNIGHT RUSTY, THE LITTLE DRAGON COCONUT, CAPT’N SHARKY, DREAMTOPIA/BARBIE or PETS UNITED, helping to influence entire generations of children, and is currently creating a new children animated series called DIE MUSKELTIERE. Jieun Yi was nominated for a German Film Award for Best Cinematographer for her work in O BEAUTIFUL NIGHT. She is a frequent collaborator of directors Xaver Böhm and Leonie Krippendorff. Her signature style has been characterized in many night scenes as showing a very specific chromaticity in the light reflections. Her latest project is entitled LASVEGAS.